Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
by dragoness100
Summary: The four Nicktoon heroes must once again save their worlds from another evil doer, but this time they are not alone. Based on the video game of the same name. (Published on DeviantArt on 10/1/13)
1. Chapter 1

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 1: Summoning 

On an island in the middle of the sea, four crabs encircled a glowing crystal, raising their claws up and down as they chanted, "Hoo, haw, hoo, haw..." Above them a swirling vortex of energy rumbled. One of the crabs stepped back and observed the ritual; he had a white beard and carried a staff with feathers.  
"We can wait no longer," he said, "it is time."

Lifting his claws into the air, he continued, "Only the Chosen Ones can save us from..." The crab looked at the volcano in the middle of the island, which smoldered and billowed smoke from its top. "...the Mawgu."

As the ritual continued, a purple beam of energy streaked from the volcano's peak and was about to strike the glowing crystal when the crab lifted his staff and stopped it in its tracks.  
"No, not yet!" he cried out. It took all his strength to hold back the attack.  
Suddenly, there was an explosion of light. When it faded, the beam was gone and the ritual stopped. The swirling vortex had disappeared.

One of the crabs gasped in horror, "The circle has been broken! The heroes will be lost!"  
"Calm down, young one," said the older crab, "they're not lost; just scattered around the island."  
He began making his way down the beach. Before he left, the wise old crab told the others, "Go back to the village; I'll go find them."

After the crab had disappeared, the three young crabs looked at one another.  
"Do you think the heroes will really save us?" asked one of them.  
Another crab snorted, "It's just a story; there can't really be heroes like the the Chosen Ones out there."

"Or can there?" said the third crab, gazing out into the ocean. After a while the three left the beach and headed back to the village. 

* * *

"...Ugh..."

A young teenager opened his blue eyes. Bright sunlight caused him to close them again. When the teen tried again, he only saw clear sky and a hot sun. After a moment, the teen rubbed the ground he was laying on and was surprised to find out it felt sandy like a beach. He then noticed that a sound like crashing waves echoed through his ears.

Danny Fenton sat up and looked around; he was no longer at Amity Park. Instead the teen was laying on a beach, the ocean stretching out in front of him. Behind him, Danny saw a row of palm trees swaying in the breeze.  
After finally standing up, he muttered, "Where am I?"  
Cupping his hands on his mouth, Danny yelled as loud as he could, "HELLO? ANYONE HERE?"

When no one answered, he felt a little panicked. _How the heck did I get here?_ , he wondered as he paced on the beach, _I don't remember anything about going on a vacation on a tropical island. Was there a shipwreck and I have amnesia about it? Where_ -  
THUNK! Danny landed on his face. When he regained his footing, he looked over and saw that he had tripped over on something. That 'something' was a pair of legs and torso sticking out of the ground.

Curious, the teen grabbed the legs and pulled with all his strength. With a pop, the entire creature was revealed; it looked like a yellow sponge with a face and arms and legs. It wore a brown and white outfit with a red tie.  
Danny instantly knew what he was looking at and exclaimed, "Spongebob!"  
The yellow sponge opened his eyes and gasped, "Whoa, Danny! Is that you?"

The teen turned Spongebob Squarepants right side up and placed him on the ground.  
"Hey, this doesn't look like Bikini Bottom!" said the sponge as he looked around.  
Danny shook his head, "Nope, and it isn't Amity Park either."  
Spongebob scratched his square head and asked, "How did we end up here, anyway?"

"YEAAAAHHHH!"

A scream from somewhere startled the two boys and they whipped their heads around. From the palm trees came two kids crashing through the forest. One had a pink hat and shirt while the other wore a red shirt with a yellow symbol on the front. Both had blue eyes and brown hair.  
"Timmy! Jimmy!" exclaimed Danny as the boys scooted under his legs. "What's goin' on?"  
The bucktooth boy pointed into the trees and stammered, "There's somethin' chasing us!"

"And his fairies can't get us outta here!" finished the genius.  
As he said that, two creatures appeared near them; one was green and the other was pink. Both had a star-tipped wand, a golden crown and fly-wings.  
"Who's idea was to vacation on a dangerous island anyway?" stated Cosmo.  
Wanda replied, "Nobody's, Cosmo! In fact, I don't remember bringing you and Timmy here."

Suddenly, the brushes revealed some type of rock monster; it looked like a panther made entirely of harden lava and its eyes glowed an eerie purple. From the monster's body dripped purple ooze.  
Danny's eyes widen in surprise, "That's the thing that's chasing you guys?"  
"No," Timmy replied in annoyance, "that's the thing that's gonna give us candy."

Spongebob smiled, "Oh, really?" and he approached the rock panther.  
The bucktooth boy screamed, "IT IS THE THING THAT'S CHASING US, YOU BOOB!"

All of the sudden, the monster leaped at the defenseless sponge. Spongebob acted quickly and blew some bubbles in the rock panther's face. The creature roared and missed the sponge, crashing into the water. As it tried to stand up in the surf, steam began poring from the cracks in its hide. The ooze that dripped down from its surface began to freeze and the monster grew still, frozen like a stone statue.

Not sure of what just happened, Jimmy cautiously drew closer to get a better look. Once he was mere feet from it, the genius tapped on the creature's rocky snout. "It appears that this creature is made up entirely of warm lava," Jimmy explained, "If it were to enter water, the lava would cool and turn to a stone-like consistency."  
Timmy peeked from behind Danny's leg, "So he's not gonna get us, then?"

The genius shook his head and returned to the group, "Nope, but I would like to take a sample of that purple ooze that was coming out of it."  
As he did, the three boys were still confused as to how they got to this 'dangerous' island.  
"Maybe this is all a dream," suggested Spongebob, "That's what happens to me whenever I eat too much ice cream."

"Alas, dear absorbent one, it is not."

The four heroes turned to the sound, this time ready; Danny transformed into Danny Phantom, Timmy's fairies became weapons, Jimmy took out his Tornado Blaster and Spongebob stood in a karate stance. They then saw the owner of the voice; it looked like a hermit crab, only much bigger. It carried a wooden staff and had a swirled, brown shell. A pair of wizened eyes poked out from its bearded face.

"Who are you?" asked Danny in a serious tone, "And where are we?"  
The crab calmly explained, "I am one of the elder crabs of this island and you are far from home, Ghost Boy."  
"Huh?" Jimmy started, lowering his blaster, "You know who we are?"  
The creature nodded, "Of course! I have summoned you here, for a purpose!"

The four gasped in astonishment. The crab continued, "Our ancient enemy, the Mawgu, has escaped from his prison and seeks vengeance upon our land."  
"He has created a terrible ooze that corrupts anything it touches," he said, "but the legends say that you, the Chosen Ones, can save us!"  
Timmy pointed at his chest, "We're the Chosen Ones? How's that possible?"  
"And how do we save you?" added Spongebob.

The wise old crab smiled, "You will know, Absorbent Yellow One, you will know. But first, you must find all of your friends."  
He then raised his claws into the air, "United, you will triumph!"  
The four boys just stared at the crab after he had finished. "Are you serious?" Danny finally asked, dumbfounded.  
The wise old crab nodded, "Yes, very. Now, follow me. I'll take you to a safe place where you can camp."

He then started down the beach. The heroes hesitated for a second before accompanying him; they had no choice other than being attacked by one of those monsters and they definitely didn't want that to happen again. 

* * *

Some time later, the four boys were still following the talking crab. Already they were beginning to exhaust themselves.  
"Come, come!" coxed the crab, "It's not much farther now."  
Timmy groaned, his legs sore, "You said that a half an hour ago."  
"You heard the crab," stated Spongebob, who looked not at all tired, "pick up the pace!"

Danny rolled his eyes and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Suddenly he froze.  
"Didja guys hear that?" he asked.  
The four stopped and listened; there was a harsh scream coming from a cliff nearby.  
"That sounds familiar..." mumbled Jimmy, who raced over to the cliff.

The others followed and peeked over the bluff. Below was a small lagoon with a beach. And on that beach was a battle.

A group of sand monsters were wrecking havoc among three creatures; one was wearing some sort of mech suit, another was an anthropomorphic squirrel and the other was a fat, pink starfish.  
Spongebob gasped as he recognized the two non-human creatures, "Patrick! Sandy! What are you guys doin' here?"  
The squirrel and sea star looked up and saw the sponge on the cliff. "Spongebob?" cried Sandy Cheeks.  
Suddenly, one of the sand monsters lunged at her.

"Look out!" cried Spongebob and he jumped from the cliff and karate chopped the sand being in half, causing the sand to crumble back down to the ground.  
"Thanks, Spongebob!" said Sandy, "But we're not outta the woods yet!"  
She and the sponge turned their attention to the other sand monsters. Above them, Danny watched for a moment before joining in. He lept from the cliff and expected to fly in to attack. But instead, gravity overtook the teen and he fell.

BAM! Danny landed hard on his feet. Pain shot through his body, but the teen was able to stand up straight and looked over to the monsters.  
"Just 'cuz I can't fly," Danny snarled, his fists glowing, "doesn't mean I can't beat you guys to a pulp."  
Patrick Star rubbed his pointed head, "Aren't they made of sand?"  
Before anyone could reply, another sand monster attacked. Danny was about to blast the beast with his ghost ray, but another beam did it for him. The monster crumpled to the ground and disappeared. The teen looked over to see the human wearing the mech suit.

"Hey, that's the Fenton Peeler suit!" he exclaimed.  
The voice in the suit replied, "It sure is!"  
Danny recognized the voice and his heart skipped a beat. "Sam?"  
"Incoming sand monster at two o'clock!" screamed Jimmy, interrupting the two.

Two more creatures appeared, but Timmy and the boy genius were able to destroy the monsters with a fury of star flingers and wind blasts. After the last sand monsters were gone, the four boys returned to the crab with their friends.  
"Ah, so you have found them," said the wise crab, looking at Sam Manson, Patrick and Sandy.  
The goth girl pressed a button on her blaster and the suit disappeared into the device. She was wearing dark clothing and had purple eyes and black hair.

"Who's that?" Sam asked.  
Danny shrugged, "Some crab that says we're the Chosen Ones."  
"And that we're gonna save the world!" finished Spongebob  
Patrick cheered, "Hooray!"

"Really?" said Sandy, stunned, "Now I've seen everythin'."  
The crab was beginning to walk towards a section in the island. "Keep following me, young ones. We have to get their before it gets dark and the Mawgu's minions attack us again."  
As they followed, the boys explained who the Mawgu is and why they were here.  
Jimmy caught up with the crab and asked, "Uh, elder crab, could we hurry up? My parents don't like it when I save the world past my bedtime."

"Do not worry, Brain Child," explained the crab, "Time flows much faster here than any of your worlds; a day here is only a minute back home."  
The genius was amazed, "Wow, fascinating."  
Meanwhile, Danny was finishing the explanation; "So, now we're here following this old crab guy to a camp of some sort."  
"Huh," said Sam, nodding, "That's pretty weird, but I've seen weirder."

The ghost teen asked her, "So, how'd you get the Peeler suit?"  
"Well, I was helping your mom with some cleaning," explained the goth, "when BOOM! I'm on this weird island being attacked by sand monsters."  
Danny smiled, "I'm glad you have the suit; otherwise those monsters would've gotten you. I'm not sure what I'll do if something happened to you..."  
Sam looked at him strangely and the teen turned his head away, quickly adding, "...or the other guys." Unbeknownst to the goth girl, Danny was blushing a little. Sam then realized something and blushed too.

"Ah, gross! Teen Love!" sickened Timmy.  
The two teens glared at him and snarled, "We're not in love!"  
"Whatever you say, Sammy and Danny," snickered Timmy.  
The goth snarled and threw a hard punch at the bucktooth kid's shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. "OW!"

"A: Don't call me 'Sammy'. And B: There's more where that came from."  
Hearing Sam threaten Timmy caused Spongebob to stand between the two.  
"Now, now, let's be reasonable."  
The wise crab noticed the situation. "Something wrong, Chosen Ones?"

"No!" the three said together, although Timmy was still nursing his arm.  
The wise crab didn't pursue the matter and gazed towards a shallow lagoon with a small building made of bamboo and palm leaves.  
"Here, is your new home, Chosen Ones!" he said, motioning with his staff.  
Jimmy surveyed the area, "Is this where we're gonna stay while we're here?"

"Oh yes," nodded the crab, head towards the building, "it's quite safe from Mawgu's minions."  
The group reached the hut and peeked inside; a couple of hammocks swayed in the ocean breeze and a table made from a tree stump stood in the middle.  
Spongebob and Patrick looked around. "It looks comfy..."  
"...and green, like the flying leprechaun!" added Patrick, pointing at Cosmo.

"Hey, I'm not a leprechaun!" retorted the fairy, "I'm a lot more fun than a leprechaun. I can grant wishes, fly, do laundry..."  
Wanda rolled her eyes, "Cosmo, you hardly do any laundry, even when it's your turn."  
"Exactly!"  
Timmy just shook his head at the two bickering fairies. Suddenly, there was a deep growl and everyone froze.

"What was that?" asked a fearful Spongebob as he clung to Danny's legs.  
Patrick soon followed suit and whimpered, "It's sounds like another monster!"  
"Will you guys get off?!" commanded Danny as he tried to shake the two off of his leg.  
Jimmy put a finger to his lips, "Guys, hush!"

After everyone quieted down, they listened closely, only hearing the breeze through the trees and their short breaths. Then, the growling came again, but this time, it had an obvious source; Danny raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked down at his belly. Another gurgling sound rumbled from his stomach.  
The teen rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly said, "Ah heh, looks like I'm getting hungry."

The group chuckled a little and relaxed, pleased that it wasn't a monster.  
"Ya'll wouldn't happen ta have any grub on ya, would ya?" Sandy asked the crab.  
The wise crab smiled, "As a matter of fact, there's plenty to eat on this island. I'll show you."  
Danny turned to the others and said, "Alright, me, Timmy and Spongebob will go get some food. Jimmy, stay here with Sandy, Sam and Patrick."

"Understood," replied the genius.  
As the three turned to leave, Spongebob said, "We'll be back in a jiff!"

The boys exited the hut and started following the crab.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 2: Berries and Fruit 

The rain forest was hot and seamy; moisture clung to the boys' clothes and face like static. They were following the wise, old crab to find some food for themselves and their friends.  
"Man," said Timmy, fanning himself with his hat, "why is it so dang hot?"  
Danny shook his sweaty head, "I dunno, dude. We'll ask Jimmy when we get outta here."  
"If we survive this heat, that is," moaned Spongebob, wiping his forehead.

"Here we are, Chosen Ones!" stated the crab.  
The three boys looked over and saw a clearing in the jungle. After they reached it, there was a small grove of trees and bushes. The trees had round, pink fruit on their branches and the bushes grew bright, red berries.  
The crab scuttled over to one of the bushes and plucked a berry. He examined it, rolling it around in his claws and sniffing. After doing the same to the fruit from the tree, the wise crab said to the boys, "These are ripe and ready to be eaten. Help yourselves, Chosen Ones!"

The guys began collecting as much fruit and berries as they could carry. Spongebob couldn't help but pop a few into his mouth.  
Smiling, he mused, "Mm, these berries taste good."  
"Really?" asked Timmy and he plucked one of the drupes. Chewing it, the bucktooth suddenly felt a sour taste in his mouth.  
Spitting it out in disgust, he turned to the sponge, "That didn't taste good at all!"

The wise crab picked up the smushed berry. "Well, no wonder," he explained, "this berry is a little late to ripen."  
"Besides," said Danny, his arms full of the harvest, "we have enough ripe ones for you and the others."  
Once they were ready, the crab led the gang back through the jungle. When they arrived back at the hut, two of their friends were having a conversation.  
"...of course, it's possible that if one were to find out the secret of the multiverse and how it works, the multiverse will disappear and would be replaced by a more complex multiverse," Jimmy was saying.

Sandy nodded, "That's a good point, pardner, but is it also possible that it's already happened?"  
"Well, perhaps, because the multiverse may have been destroyed and created many times before and..."  
"WE'RE BACK!"  
The two inventors were startled by Spongebob's loud greeting. "Spongebob, for Calamity Jane's sake!" said the squirrel, clutching her chest, "ya'll almost gave be a heart attack."

The sponge grew guilty, "Oh, sorry, Sandy. I didn't mean to..."  
"That's whacha said when you completely dismantled my anti-matter gun."  
Jimmy's eyes lit up, "You have a anti-matter gun?"  
"I used to..."

"Can we eat now?" asked Patrick.  
Timmy looked over at the pink sea star and said, "I think that's the best idea I've ever heard from Pat; we should eat now."  
The three boys placed the fruit and berries on the tree stump table. There were two kinds; one came from the tree and had a pink, smooth skin with an orange hue, while the other was from a bush and was red and bumpy.  
Jimmy picked up the pink fruit and studied it. "Are these safe to eat?"

"The crab said these were ripe," replied Danny, grabbing a handful of the berries.  
Timmy held the fruit in his hands and asked, "So, who's gonna go first?"  
"Ooh! Ooh! Me first! Me first!" pleaded Patrick as he jumped up and down, waving his stubby arms.  
He rushed over and took the fruit from the bucktooth kid's hand. The sea star began to _nom_ the food in a messy fashion.

After finishing, he burped and said, "Mmm, tasty."  
"Really?" Danny took a bite of the pink fruit. It tasted like a peach but was a watery as a watermelon.  
Watching the teen chowing down on his food made Jimmy hungry and he popped one of the berries into his mouth. It had the flavor of a strawberry but a slight sour taste like that of a grapefruit. The others followed suit and were soon enjoying the tropical food.

Soon, the table was empty and the group was relaxing, their stomachs full.  
Danny leaned back on the chair he was sitting in and stretched. "Being the Chosen One is awesome!" he said.  
"Don't forget why we're here in the first place, though," Jimmy replied. He was looking at one of his devices.  
Timmy noticed and asks, "Whacha doin'?"

"I'm studying the abnormalities in this dimension's space-time fabric. It looks like there's an irregularity effecting the island."  
The others nodded, still not understanding what the genius was saying.  
"What does that mean?" asked Spongebob.  
Sam added, "And could you explain it in English, please?"

Jimmy looked up at the group and said, "I think I might know what's going on; our monster, the Mawgu, is draining energy in all of our worlds and keeping it for myself."  
A fearful expression crossed his face as he continued, "If this goes on for much longer, all our homes will be destroyed!"  
Upon hearing the word 'destroyed', Danny sat up straight. "If he's gettin' so powerful, how can we stop him?"

The genius smiled, "I've setting up a blueprint of an invention that could help us; the Neutron Rip-Zipper! It'll use that monster's power to energize itself and close the rip in time and space."  
"Great," said Timmy, "so you'll get it done in no time, right?"  
Jimmy said sheepishly, "Actually, I'll need some parts for the device. But fortunately we'll find them around the island."

"Do ya'll know what we need?" asked Sandy.  
The genius quickly drew a rough blueprint of the Rip-Zipper, did a calculation and stated, "We'd need a stand to hold the device in place, some electronics (which I'll provide), and an energy focus."  
"Won't the energy source be the stuff the Mawgu is draining?" Danny asked.

"Without a focus," replied Jimmy, "the energy will escape too quickly; we need something to store that energy for the device to work."  
Spongebob was still confused will all the 'sciency' stuff, but inquired, "So, what can we use to make an energy focus thingamajig?"  
"Good question," said the genius, "and I think that a stone or crystal would work as a focus."

"A stone, you say?"

The group jumped at the voice and saw the wise old crab standing in the doorway. He looked at the surprised expressions on the Chosen Ones' faces.  
"My apologies, but I couldn't help overhearing that you require a stone so you can save our island."  
Jimmy nodded, "Yes, we do."  
"Well, there is a special stone, called the Amber Stone, hidden deep in a lagoon cave not far from here. Legends say that it shall grant vast power to anyone who finds it."

The genius's eyes lit up, "That'll work perfectly for the Rip-Zipper!"  
"Great!" said Danny, standing up, "Let's go and get that stone!"  
The crab suddenly blocked the teen's path with his staff. "It's far too dangerous to be traveling after dark, Ghost Boy. The Mawgu's minions are much stronger during the night."  
"But the Mawgu might destroy our worlds overnight!" protested Danny.

The crab smiled, "Not to worry; I know a few spells that will disrupt his plans. Although they can't stop the Mawgu completely, the spells will slow him down long enough for you and your friends to find the stone."  
Spongebob awed, "Ooh, so you're a magician or something?"  
"Actually, I'm the shaman of my village. I may look frail, but I know a good spell or two to keep that monster on his toes."

Sam crossed her arms in pride, "I told ya, guys, never trust a book by its cover."  
"So, if we can't go out at night," said Timmy, "what are we supposed to do?"  
The wise crab answered, "Sleep! You Chosen Ones need your rest for tomorrow's mission. I'll do the same, after I finish those spells. Sleep well, Chosen Ones!"

With that said, the crab scuttled back to his village, leaving the group alone.  
Spongebob climbed into one of the hammocks. "You heard him, let's get some shut eye."  
"You said it, Spongebob," replied Patrick as he tried to do the same. The sea star lost his balance while trying to get in the bed and fell to the floor. He tried again a few more times, failing every time, until Danny rolled his eyes and picked him up and placed Patrick in the cot.

"Thanks, could you give me a kiss goodnight too?" asked the sea star in a dopey manner.  
Danny dully said, "Yeah no, dude," and crawled into another hammock.  
Timmy smirked, already in the cot, "You could give Sam a goodnight kiss..."  
He yelped when he flew off the bed and onto the floor. Standing up, the bucktooth kid saw the teen's smoking hand and glaring face.

"Jeez, I was just kiddin'," grumbled Timmy, getting in the hammock again.  
Once everyone was in bed, most of them quickly fell asleep. Except for Danny, who was too excited to slumber.  
The ghost teen, now in his human form, listened to his friends' quiet breathing. There was a snore from Patrick and he turned on his side, drooling a little. Spongebob mumbled in his sleep, something about talking Krabby Patties.

Outside, Danny could hear insects chirping up a storm. He then noticed a firefly enter through the cracked door. It flew slowly and blinked its light in a soft glow, like a candle. The teen smiled as his eyes started to droop. The firefly's glow made Danny feel comfortable and he soon drifted off to dreamland.


	3. Chapter 3

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 3: Quest for the Amber Stone 

The sun rose high on the island, with yellow light streaking across the horizon. The palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze and sunlight dappled through the forest.  
In the Chosen Ones' hut, the group was still asleep. A ray of light touched Danny's face, causing him to blink and open his eyes. Sitting up and rubbing said eyes, the ghost teen looked around.  
 _Looks like everyone's still asleep_ , Danny thought. He slid out of the hammock and walked outside. A cool, moist breeze was blowing from the sea.

Taking a deep breath, the ghost hero gazed out to the lagoon. He suddenly felt someone next to him and noticed Sam standing beside him.  
"It sure is pretty, isn't it?" she said, smiling.  
Danny returned the smile, but inside he began to get a funny feeling in his belly. It seem to happen every time he was with the goth girl.  
"Yeah," the teen sighed, putting on a brave face, "pretty."

Sam looked at her friend and he looked at her. After blinking several times, the two chuckled for no apparent reason and blushed a little.

"GOOD MORNING, FRIENDS!"

Spongebob's loud greeting startled the two teens. They saw the sponge skipping out of the hut with Patrick trailing him.  
"Oh boy! Oh, boy!" he said excitedly, "It's time to find that stone thingy!"  
His starfish friend clapped, "Yay! Adventure!"  
Spongebob then noticed Danny and Sam together. He stared for a moment and got a big, sly grin on his face.

The ghost teen stuttered in surprise, "Uh...Spongebob, would you mind awaking the others?"  
"Understood, Danny," responded the sponge, winking.  
After he had gone back inside the hut, Danny looked back at Sam and said, "We'd better get ready."  
"Uh, yeah," muttered the goth, "we should."

Once the team was ready, the wise crab came over to meet them.  
"I wish dearly that I could come with you, Chosen Ones," he was saying, "but I need to be here for the village."  
Jimmy smiled, "We understand. You wouldn't happen to know the way to the lagoon where the Amber Stone is located, would ya?"  
The old crab rummaged through his knapsack and pulled out a worn map. "Use this map to guide you to the cave."

He gave the map to Danny, who did a quick once over of the atlas.  
"Looks like the lagoon's...that way!" he said, pointing towards a path leading to the rain forest.  
Timmy squinted and replied, "Alright, let's go then! I'll lead the way!"  
The bucktooth boy began to saunter over when Danny grabbed him by the collar and drug him behind, saying, "I have the map; I'll lead the way."

The teen, now in his ghost form, made his way to the path, with the others following him.  
"Good luck, Chosen Ones!" called the crab after them. 

* * *

The group trudged down the path, the rain forest as hot and humid as ever. Big, green leaves covered the area, save for the dirt path and tall palm trees almost blocked out the sun.  
Danny switched between looking at the map and the path every few seconds. "We're on the right track, gang."  
"But how much longer?" whined Timmy, fanning himself again.  
The teen scanned the map again and replied, "Not long; hang in there, Tim."

The heroes continued to trek on and soon Spongebob and Patrick started singing to keep everyone going,

 _We're on our way,  
to the find the stone that'll save our worlds.  
We're on our way,  
to defeat the Mawgu before he destroys,_

 _destroys our worlds._

 _(Oh, we'll never quit, oh we'll never quit,  
we'll not give up, we'll not give up,  
'cuz this is it, cuz this is it)_

 _We are on our way,  
to save the day once again.  
_

 _We are on our way,  
to save the day once again._

Suddenly, Sandy joined in,

 _Don't ya'll give up,  
we're here to save the worlds._

 _Don't ya'll give up,  
we're more ready than a ripe pickle in a barrel._

The three of them sung all at once,

 _Don't give up,  
we're here to save the worlds._

 _Don't give up,  
we ready to help the island._

 _(Now we're on way to save the day,  
nothing will stop us to save the day,  
we'll save the day, oh, we'll save the day)_

 _SO DON'T YOU GIVE UP NOW!_

Timmy grumbled as he plugged his ears with wrapped up leaves.  
"Uh, Timmy?" asked Wanda when she saw her godchild, "Do you know if those plants are safe to stick them in your ears?"  
The bucktooth kid turned to her, barely hearing the fairy, "I don't care. I just want to drown out Spongebob's singing."  
Suddenly, Timmy's ears started to itch. Bad.

"AAH!" screeched Timmy as he ripped the leaves from his ears and scratched them vigorously. His screaming caused Spongebob and his friends to stop singing and look at him.  
"Timmy, what's wrong?" asked Jimmy as he rushed over.  
The bucktooth continued to rub his raw ears. They felt like they were on fire!  
Cosmo explained, "Timmy stuck leaves in his ears so he didn't hafta listen to Spongebob's horrible singing."

The bucktooth boy elbowed the fairy before he could say anything else, but the sponge had already heard him.  
"You think my singing's horrible?" Spongebob asked weakly.  
Timmy stuttered, "Did I say that? I don't remember sayin' that."  
Jimmy, meanwhile, had a bottle of water and was pouring some of the cool liquid in the bucktooth boy's ears. "Looks like it's some type of skin reaction, similar to poison ivy. But I think you'll be fine."

Danny craned his neck and asked, "Everything okay back there?"  
"Yeah," Timmy answered, "we're fine."  
The teen took one last look before continuing down the path. Timmy, Jimmy and Spongebob started after him. The bucktooth kid glanced over at the sponge and noticed a hurt expression on his face. 

* * *

"I think this is it," said Danny, stopping.

The others peeked from behind the teen and saw a beautiful lagoon. There was a partly submerged cave in one of the coves.  
Spongebob noticed the cavern and asked, "Is that the cave were the stone is?"  
"Well, there's no other cave here," said Sam, scanning the area.  
Danny tucked the map into his back pocket. "Let's go, then."

The team cautiously made their way to the cave, trudging through knee-deep water. But that was just for the two teens and Spongebob's friends; Timmy and Jimmy were almost up to their chests in the sloshing sea. The ghost hero noticed this and picked up the two, placing them on his shoulders.  
"That's better," the genius appreciated.  
Timmy nodded, "Much better."

Finally, the group arrived at the cave entrance. It was bigger than they had thought; the ceiling was at least ten feet tall. But Danny noticed how much deeper it was going to be in the back.  
"Looks like we're goin' for a swim," said the teen to his friends.  
Spongebob and Patrick beamed and started forward. They sloshed halfway through and fell into the deep end. After popping back up, they motioned their friends to join them.

"C'mon in, the water's fine," coaxed the sponge.  
The others soon followed after, carefully entering the pool. Sam could see though the clear water almost to the bottom, as deep as the cave ceiling was high.  
"Be careful, everyone," warned Jimmy as he clung to Danny, "there could be stalactites and stalagmites."  
Timmy turned to the genius, who was hanging on the other side of the teen, "What's the difference?"

"Stalactites come from above and stalagmites come from below."  
Sandy stroked slowly and added, "Not ta mention they're both made of hard and pointy rocks, so if ya'll crash into either of them, it gonna hurt worse than a wasp sting on a funny bone."  
The group continued to swim through the cave, carefully scanning the ground and ceiling for any rock protrusions. The sound of waves crashing echoed throughout the cavern.

Soon, they came upon a dead end. A pile of rocks blocked their path, but the water was much deeper here.  
"Hey, Spongebob and Patrick!" Danny called over.  
The two sea creatures swam to the teen.  
"I want the two of you to go down there and see if you can find anything," Danny commanded.

Spongebob chirped, "Okaydokey! Let's go, Pat!"  
The friends dove down. It took them a while to reach the bottom, but they soon landed on the sandy sea floor.  
"Ooh, it's dark and scary down here," stuttered Patrick, shaking, "I don't like dark and scary!"  
His sponge friend tried to comfort him, saying, "It's okay Patrick. Remember; we're the Chosen Ones. We must be brave."

The pink sea star looked at Spongebob and relaxed a little. "You're right, Spongebob. We're the Chosen Ones!"  
After calming down Patrick, the sponge began to scan the area. He then noticed a strange, smooth rock laying half buried in the sand. It seemed to glow a deep, rich orange color.  
"Hey, look at this," said Spongebob as he tried to dig it out. But it was too heavy for him.

"Allow me," stated Patrick and he tried the action, but to no avail.  
Spongebob rubbed his chin, "We need someone strong to carry this thing." An idea came to mind and he snapped his fingers. "Wait here, Pat."  
Spongebob swam and popped to the surface.  
Danny asked, "Well, didja find anything?"

"Yep," replied the sponge, "it's some kind of weird stone."  
Jimmy looked at Spongebob, "Weird stone? I'd better have a look at it. Can you bring it up?"  
The sponge frowned, "It's too heavy for me or Patrick to carry."  
Danny said, "That's okay, me and Jimmy will go down and look at it."

"Follow me, then," said Spongebob and he dove again. The teen and genius took a deep breath and dove down after the sponge.  
While the others patiently waited above, the three boys met up with Patrick, who was asleep.  
"Pat, wake up," said Spongebob, shaking him, "Danny and Jimmy are here."  
The sea star snored and looked at the guys, "Oh, hey. Whacha want?"

"Where'd you put the stone, Patrick?" asked the sponge.  
Patrick stood up and stepped aside, revealing the object. "I sat on it so nobody would get it."  
Nodding to the sea star, Jimmy and Danny floated down to the stone. The teen dug his hands into the sand and carefully lifted the stone up. It was unusual all right; The color was much different than the surrounding rock as it had a deep red hue with gold streaks inside.

Jimmy tapped Danny's shoulder and pointed up. The teen nodded and pushed off the bottom with the genius in tow.  
"Hey, wait for us!" called Spongebob as he and Patrick followed the two.  
The boys breached the surface, Danny and Jimmy gasping for air.  
"What didja get?" asked Timmy, clinging to a half submerged stalagmite.

Danny presented the stone to the others. "See for yourself."  
The group gathered around and awed at the unusual object.  
Jimmy told them, "I bet this is the Amber Stone the crab was talking about."  
"Is this the same stone in the legend that'll give us energy or somethin' to defeat that Mawgu guy?" asked Sam.

Spongebob weighed the stone in his hands. "It must be; let's take it back to camp and-"  
"S-Spongebob?" stuttered Patrick as he poked the sponge's back.  
"What is it, Pat?"  
The sea star pointed to the cave's end. The pile of rocks that blocked their path was beginning to crumble.

Timmy asked Jimmy nervously, "Dude, what's goin' on?"  
"It looks like those rocks are starting to collapse under the water pressure," concurred the genius.  
Danny inquired, "What does that mean for us?"  
The teen's question was answered when the pile gave way and the sea water began flowing quickly into the other chamber.

The team screamed as rushing water carried them through the cave, sloshing and tossing the heroes forward. They were separated in minutes. Danny struggled to stay above the chaotic surge. He frantically looked around to find his friends, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Below, Spongebob and Patrick were holding on for dear life on a stalagmite.  
"Spongebob, I don't wanna be a Chosen One anymore!" cried the panicked starfish as he clung to his friend's legs.  
The sponge's hands were beginning to lose their grip. Finally the two were flung forward into the surge, screaming.

Meanwhile, Timmy and Jimmy held on to one another in desperation and not far off, Sandy and Sam were doing the same, straining against the surf.  
A sudden crashing sound echoed through the cavern and Danny craned his neck to see an exit...with the water cascading down the bottom.

Realizing what was about to happen, the teen tried even harder to reach the sides of the cave. The water was too deep for him to stand in and the walls were too slippery to get a good grip.  
It was too late; Timmy and Jimmy fell over the falls, screaming, followed below by Spongebob and Patrick. Sandy and Sam cried out as they tumbled over. Danny did everything he could to escape, but the surge was too strong; the water pushed him out and over the cliff.

The entire team soon disappeared below the foamy water... 

* * *

A gentle glow of orange light warmed the area. Danny stood in the middle, unsure how he had gotten here.  
"Where am I?" he asked out loud.  
A voice answered, "You're right here, Danny."  
The teen turned to the voice and gasped. His friend, Sam, was standing not too far away, smiling.

"Sam!" Danny cried out and he rushed to her. She did the same and they hugged.  
The ghost hero asked, "Are you okay?"  
"Of course I'm okay," she said, "now that you're here with me."  
Danny stared into her eyes, getting that funny feeling again. Out of instinct, he leaned forward and puckered his lips. Sam did the same and the two were just about to kiss...when Danny opened his eyes.

Instead of gazing into the goth girl's face, he was gazing at Patrick's!

"GAH!" cried the teen and he pushed the sea star back.  
Patrick fell with an 'oomph' and lay on his back. Spongebob suddenly came up to him and exclaimed, "Danny! You're awake!"  
"Huh?" said the teen, groggy and confused. Scanning the area, he realized he was at one end of a river that cut through the rain forest.  
Danny wondered, _Was that just a dream, then?_ The teen slowly stood up and asked Spongebob, "What are you talking about, dude?"

"Well, when we found you, you were unconscious," explained the sponge, "so me and Patrick drug you up to the bank. I told Pat you were still breathing, but he was about to resuscitate you anyway."  
"He what?!" exclaimed Danny and he got a sick look. The teen rushed over to the river and began washing his mouth off.  
"Ah, c'mon," shrugged Patrick as he stood up, "I didn't even got that far before you pushed me off."

Danny looked up at the sea star, "Yeah, but just the thought of it..." Another sick look crossed his face and he started to wash his mouth again.  
Suddenly, the teen stood up, another thought passing through his mind. "Spongebob, where are the others?'  
"I don't know, Danny," said the sponge sadly, "we're not sure what happened to them."  
Danny wiped his mouth and replied, "Well, they can't be too far. Let's go find them."

He, Spongebob and Patrick started trotting off down the river bank. 

* * *

Jimmy coughed and sputtered. Sitting up, the genius gasped for air. Looking down, he saw Sam had already regained consciousness and was bending over. Jimmy soon realized he and the goth girl were perched on a boulder not far from the river bank.  
"Heh, looks like we go outta there in one piece," chuckled the genius.  
Sam didn't say anything.

The genius poked Danny's friend and asked, "You okay, Sam? What's wrong?"  
"I...don't know," gasped Sam, obviously in distress, "I can't...catch...my breath."  
Jimmy's eyes grew wide in fear. "What!?"  
He quickly dug through his backpack and took out a stethoscope. The genius placed the device on Sam's back and listened to her heart and breathing.

A look of horror crossed Jimmy's face. "Or, maybe not..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 4: Meet the Mermecs 

Danny and his two 'sea buddies' were walking down the river bank after the team had been separated by a flash flood when the teen spied something on one of the boulders in the river.  
"Sam! Jimmy!" he called.  
When the two didn't answer, he wadded through the ankle-deep water and climbed the rock. There, the genius and the goth were sitting next to one another. The ghost teen then noticed Jimmy was using a doctor's stethoscope on Sam's back.

"What are you doin'?" asked Danny, startling the two.  
Sam coughed particularly hard, causing the teen to stare at her, concerned.  
The genius looked at him and replied, "Sam's breathing is short and rugged. I fear she has water in her lungs."  
Spongebob and Patrick popped their heads over the boulder. "Is that bad?" asked the sea star.

Jimmy solemnly nodded, "It's the worse thing that can happen to mammals. If Sam doesn't get help soon, she could drown above water."  
Danny cringed and looked over at his gasping friend in worry. "What should we do, then?"  
"We have to find Cosmo and Wanda," explained the genius, "their fairy energy might help."  
Spongebob asked, "Me and Patrick will go look for them!"

"We will?" inquired the sea star.  
The sponge grabbed his friend by the hand and drugged him to the river bank. They were just about to search when Timmy and Sandy came running towards them from the forest.  
"There ya are," hollered the squirrel, "we've been lookin' all over fer ya."  
Spongebob beamed when he saw his friends. "Oh thank Neptune you guys are okay! Timmy, where are your fairies?"

With a sudden poof, Cosmo and Wanda appeared as monkeys on the ground.  
"Guys, we need your help."  
The sponge then led the four to the others, who had climbed down the boulder and had laid Sam against a tree. Danny and Jimmy had crowded around her.  
After the team had reassembled, Wanda asked, "What's wrong with Sam?"

"She's got water in her lungs," replied Danny, not taking his eyes off his friend.  
Timmy turned to his fairies and commanded, "I wish Sam was better!"  
Cosmo and Wanda waved their wands, but nothing happened.  
"Oh, don't tell me there's a rule about healing people," whined the bucktooth boy.

Wanda shook her head, "It's not that; we just don't have enough power to help her."  
Jimmy again used the stethoscope on Sam. "She's stable, but we have to get that liquid out soon."  
The goth girl suddenly opened her eyes and stared up at Danny. "Oh, man...What's goin' on?..."  
Danny tried to consul her. "It' gonna be okay, Sam. We'll help you." he said calmly, but inside the teen felt sick to his stomach. Sam had never been in such bad shape before and it took all of his strength just to keep calm.

"Hey...guess what?..." she wheezed. The goth girl dug into her pocket and pulled out the enchanted stone.  
The ghost teen's eyes widen. "How'd you get that?"  
Sam gasped, "I found it...when I went over...the waterfall. It was...washed up...on the boulder-"  
The goth started to cough loudly. Danny gently pounded her back. Just watching the girl struggle for air made the teen's heart ache.

"Jimmy, please," he pleaded, his voice growing hoarse, "there's got to be something we can do."  
The genius was about to comment when the group heard something rustling in the bushes.  
Two strange creatures dressed in tribal wear stepped out onto the bank. They looked like giant, purple bugs with four legs and two arms. One of them saw the group and gasped, "Eirk, look!"  
The creature named Eirk turned to see the assembly with big eyes and was surprised.

"Are they...the Chosen Ones, Guil?" he asked his friend after a moment.  
Guil nodded his insect head, "I think so."  
Danny stared at the two creatures, but realized they weren't a threat. He quickly stood up and walked over to them. "Please, can you help us?"  
Eirk and Guil looked at the teen in amazement. "What is it, oh Chosen One?" asked one of them.

Danny swept his arm to Sam. "My friend's hurt; she can barely breathe because her lungs are filled with water."  
"Oh my," said Eirk, "that's not good for your kind, is it? Alright, we'll help you."  
Guil looked over at the setting sun. "But not here, it's too dangerous. Follow us and we'll take you to our village."  
The group nodded and set off after the two bug creatures, with Danny carrying Sam in his arms. 

* * *

After a couple of minutes of walking, Eirk and Guil led them to their village. It was filled with the same bug creatures as the two friends. Wooden huts of all shapes and sizes surrounded a large fire pit. They escorted the group into a large hut fitted with several hammocks.  
"This type of bed must be common on the island," stated Jimmy, looking at the raised cots.  
Eirk nodded, "They protect us from creatures on the ground..."

"...and its a lot more comfortable then other beds," added Guil.  
Danny carefully laid Sam on one of the cots. She was still conscious, watching all that was going on, but barely.  
The two bug creatures left, saying, "We'll contact the queen for your friend!"  
"The queen?" asked Timmy.

Moments later, another bug creature appeared. It was dressed in monarch clothing, complete with a gold crown and necklace. In one hand it had a long scepter with a carving of a scarab on top.  
 _That must be the queen,_ figured Jimmy, studying her.  
"The Chosen Ones?" she exclaimed, "Then the legends are true. I should've believed Shelly all along."  
The others looked at one another and quipped, "Shelly?"

A gurgley cough from Sam snapped the crew back to reality. The queen made her way to her bed and knelt down.  
"Eirk and Guil told me the Night Girl is hurt," the she-bug said, stroking the goth's black hair.  
Danny nodded and told the queen of her condition. "Is there anything you can do to help her, your majesty?"  
She flicked her antennae. "Yes, but I need some time with her. You should all wait in the next hut."

Jimmy bowed and said, "Understood. C'mon guys, let's give the queen some privacy."  
"Oh, please," smiled the she-bug, "call me Anorra."  
After the group had left Sam and Anorra in the medical hut, they waited patiently in the other shack, sitting on some stools and hammocks. Well, almost all of them; Danny paced back and forth, wringing his hands and a nervous demeanor on his face.

Spongebob said, "Danny, it's gonna be okay; just take a deep breath and calm down."  
The teen tried the action, puffing out his front, but it didn't work. After trying again several times, he grew dizzy and shook his head.  
"No, don't hyperventilate, just relax," voiced Jimmy as Danny plopped onto chair, holding his head.  
Sandy looked at the upset teen, concerned. "Golly, he looks worse than a bull on a branding table."

A bug-creature suddenly appeared at the entrance. It was Guil.  
"By Anorra's heart, is everything alright?" exclaimed the he-bug when he saw Danny's expression.  
Timmy spoke up, "Danny's just upset that is girlfriend's hurt."  
"She's not my girlfriend!" retorted the teen, throwing a glare at the bucktooth.

Guil considered for a moment and brought out a piece of fruit from his knapsack. "Here, eat this. It always calms me down."  
Danny took the fruit and rolled it between his hands. "Thanks, I guess," said the teen, although he didn't feel hungry.  
"Um, Guil, can I ask you something?" inquired Jimmy.  
"Of course, Brain Child, what is it?"

"Do you have a name for your species?"  
The bug creatures smiled, "We call ourselves the Mermecs. We have peacefully lived on this island for centuries, along with the Crabs and Florians."  
"Who are the Florians?" asked Spongebob.  
"The Florians are a plant-based species that live not too far from our village. They rely on this river for their nutrients and have become a great ally for us."

Listening to the Mermec talk made Danny feel a little better; it's voice somehow calmed him. Glancing at the others, the teen realized they were experiencing the same thing.  
"But the Florians are in trouble," continued Guil, "as the Mawgu's minions have kidnapped their leader, King Gorge."  
Patrick suddenly stated, "Those fiends!"  
The Mermec hunter nodded, "Indeed. We tried to help the people, but they had already abandoned their camp. Now we're unsure what to do now..."

Anorra suddenly appeared at the entrance, poking her head inside. "Ghost Boy?"  
Danny perked and stood up. "Queen Anorra? Is Sam gonna be okay?"  
The queen smiled, "Oh yes, quite. She'll fully recover tomorrow."  
A whoosh of pent-up, stale air escaped the ghost teen's mouth as he sighed in relief. "Can I see her?"

"Yes," answered Anorra, "but not for very long; your friend needs to rest."  
Understanding, Danny sauntered out of the shack, nodding a thanks to the queen.  
Once he had disappeared, Spongebob snickered to himself, "And he says she's not his girlfriend..."

Danny quietly entered the medical hut and saw Sam resting on the hammock. He carefully made his way to her and sat on one of the shanty chairs.  
The goth opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Danny. "Oh, hey. What's up?"  
"It's good to have you back, Sam, that's what's up," said the teen, relieved to hear her breathe normally.  
Sam slowly sat up and Danny placed a hand on her back to help her. "It's good to be back," she replied.

Danny handed over the fruit that Guil had given him to Sam. "Here, eat this. You'll feel a lot better."  
A sudden growling from the teen's belly caused the goth to giggle.  
"Looks like you need it more than I do," she commented.  
Thinking for a moment, Danny grabbed the sides of the fruit and pulled it apart in two halves. He gave one to Sam.

"There," he said, "now there's enough for both of us."  
Sam smiled and starting eating. The ghost teen did the same and the two quietly chewed on the sweet fruit. Once they had finished, the two teens relaxed.  
"Oh, hey, that reminds me!" Sam exclaimed and she reached over and picked up the stone from a table next to the cot.  
Placing it in Danny's hands, the goth said, "You'll need to take care of this while I'm recovering."

"Of course," replied the teen, watching it in surprise as it started to glow with a warm light from within. Their hands were still on the stone.  
A thought crossed Danny's mind, _That's funny; why is it glowing?  
_ His hand slipped onto her's accidentally and the two teens retracted their arms from the stone.  
"Sorry," Danny said quickly as his face began to grow warm.

Sam rubbed her hand sheepishly. Yawning, the goth lay back down on the hammock. "Well, I'm going to sleep. See you tomorrow, Danny."  
Danny stood up, clutching the stone to his chest. "Yeah, goodnight, Sam."

After the ghost teen took one last look of his friend, he sauntered over to the other hut. Outside the sun had gone down and the blue sky was replaced with a dark, starry atmosphere. The team he had left inside the hut were dozing in their cots. Sighing, Danny placed the stone on the stump table and climbed into his cot. No longer worried about Sam, it didn't take long for the teen to fall asleep. 

* * *

When morning came, Spongebob opened his eyes and beamed, "All right!" He slid out from his cot and sauntered over to the entrance.  
"I should make some breakfast for the crew before-" the sponge was talking to himself when he stopped.  
He looked over at Danny, who was sleeping on one side. But something was wrong; the teen was twitching and shaking his arms and legs.  
Spongebob walked over to his head and noticed his closed eyes were blinking furiously.

"Danny?" asked the sponge and gently shook the teen's shoulder.  
The ghost teen gasped and opened his eyes, panting like a dog. He sat up quickly and looked around in a panic.  
"Oh, you're awake!" cheered Spongebob.  
Danny looked over at the happy sponge, confused. "What happened?"

"You looked like you were havin' a nightmare."  
The teen's eyes widen. "I was?" Then he remembered.  
"That's right," Danny realized, jumping down from his bed, "I was havin' a nightmare about you guys. The whole team was attacked by this enormous rock monster."  
Spongebob then noticed the teen's look of horror; he had never seen Danny so scared.

Danny continued, "I tried to stop him, but..." He trailed off, squeezing his eyes tight.  
"Oh, it's okay, Danny," consulted the sponge, "it was just a dream."  
The teen nodded as he started to calm down. "Yeah, you're right; it was just a dream."  
"C'mon, to cheer you up, I'll let you have the first bite of my tropical Krabby Patty!"

Spongebob skipped out of the tent with Danny following, confused.  
"What's a tropical Krabby Patty?" asked the teen.  
The sponge grinned as he rushed to the fire pit, "It's a special KP made with fruit and veggies."  
"I bet Sam'll love it," commented Danny.

"Why is that?"  
The teen explained, "Sam's a vegetarian."  
Spongebob was still confused. "What's that?"  
"It just means she doesn't eat meat, only veggies and fruit."

The sponge nodded as he made the tropical Krabby Patty on one of the stump tables. Soon, he plopped one onto Danny's lap. The teen picked up the sandwich and studied it; instead of the usual meaty patty between two buns there was a thick slice of red fruit. And replacing the lettuce, onions and everything else in a normal Krabby Patty, there were several different types of berries.

"Well, go on! Eat up!" encouraged Spongebob, watching Danny, "We Chosen Ones have to maintain our strengths."  
The teen smirked, "Ain't that the truth," and bit into the sandwich. The teen smiled as he tasted the sweet and juicy contents.  
"Hey, it's actually pretty good," Danny commented.  
The sponge grinned from pore to pore. "I'm glad you like it. I'll make more for the rest of the team."

As if on cue, Timmy and Jimmy came out of the hut, rubbing their eyes and stretching.  
The bucktooth boy sniffed the air. "Hey, what's cookin'?  
"It's a tropical Krabby Patty," Danny and Spongebob said together.  
Jimmy sat on the grass and said, "Huh, I've never heard of one of those."

"Well that' cuz I invented it this morning," explained the sponge as he cut some more fruit slices.  
Timmy poked the genius, "Hey, just like you do, Jim."  
"They say the highest form of flattery is mimicry," replied Jimmy, smiling.  
A few minutes later, Spongebob finished the two boys' orders and gave the patties to them. He of course saved one for himself. After they gnawed on their sandwiches for a few minutes, the sponge couldn't help but ask Danny.

"So, are you gonna tell her?"  
The teen looked up at Spongebob with his cheeks puffed out with food and inquired, "Tell who what?"  
"Ya know," explained the smiling sponge, "tell Sam how you feel about her?"  
Danny spat out his food in shock as did Timmy. Jimmy, however, did the opposite and started to choke. After giving a hard pounding on his chest, the genius swallowed the bolus and relaxed, panting.

"Spongebob, I don't think this is the right time for Danny to do such a thing," Jimmy said, as he regained control.  
The sponge waved off the comment, saying, "Oh, pishposh; there's always time for love, especially if we're on a stressing adventure to save the world...s."  
"How many times do I hafta tell you?" protested Danny, "I. Am. Not. In. Love!"  
Timmy smirked, "Sure you're not, and I don't have magical beings that wish up anything I want."

"Didja call us?"  
The four boys looked up and saw Cosmo and Wanda, hovering in their parrot form.  
Timmy told them, "I'm just comparing Danny's love for Sam to you guys."  
"I like her just as a friend!" the teen glared, his face burning red.

Spongebob pointed out, "If that's true, why are ya blushing?"  
Danny angrily stood up. "That's cuz I'm getting mad!"  
"Will ya'll stop shoutin'?! Yer gonna wake up the whole tribe!"  
The team turned around and noticed Sandy standing at the entrance to the hut.

"Hiya, Sandy!" greeted Spongebob and handed her the special Krabby Patty. "We were just talking to Danny about taking his and Sam's relationship to the next level."  
The teen suddenly roared, "AUGH!" and threw down his food. Danny stomped away into the forest, leaving the guys stunned.  
"Oh no! The Tropical Krabby Patty!" cried Spongebob as he raced to the smushed sandwich.

After examining, the sponge's eyes grew watery. "How could he do such a thing to an innocent Krabby Patty?" he whimpered.  
Timmy rolled his eyes while Jimmy looked over to where Danny had stormed off, growing concerned.


	5. Chapter 5

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 5: Saving the Florians 

Sometime later in the medical hut, Sam started to wake up. She yawned and stretched in the cot, feeling much better after what had happened yesterday. Outside the tent, the goth heard voices.  
 _Sounds like the rest of the team is up_ , Sam thought as she stood up and walked out of the hut and into daylight.  
Timmy, Jimmy, Spongebob, Patrick and Sandy were sitting on a fallen log around the fire pit, eating an unusual sandwich.

The goth strolled over to them and greeted, "Morning, everyone!"  
"Howdy, Sam!" replied Sandy, "Ya'll feelin' better?"  
The teen responded, "Yep, and I'm ready to head out." She then looked around, noticing something was missing.  
"Where's Danny?"

The atmosphere of the group suddenly changed; Spongebob grew teary eyed, Timmy rolled his eyes and Jimmy looked away.  
Sam became concerned, "Is he okay?"  
"Oh, he's fine," said Sandy, "Danny's just upset cuz Timmy ticked him off."  
The bucktooth kid protested, "Well, I can't help it if he has a big-"

Jimmy gave Timmy a hard jab on the side, silencing him. "What Timmy is trying to say is that Danny is just...stressed about the whole 'save the worlds or perish' thing."  
Sam raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't sound like him; Danny usually keeps his cool during rough times."  
"And he does," continued the genius, "Timmy just happened to, as they say, push his buttons one too many times."

The goth wasn't buying it, but didn't press him. She then turned her attention to Spongebob, who was looking down on a smushed Krabby Patty.  
"Spongebob? Can you tell me what happened?"  
The sponge lifted his square head at Sam. He then looked over to where Danny had disappeared and returned his gaze to the teen.  
"Danny just got mad and smushed a perfectly good tropical KB," sniffed Spongebob.

Sam sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get more information from the troubled sponge. She then glared at Timmy, who was ignoring the leer. "For your sake, he'd better come back."  
The bucktooth boy said, "Oh, he'll be back. Danny can't be that upset." 

* * *

Unfortunately, Timmy was wrong.

Danny was striding through the rain forest, not caring where he was going. The teen's hands were stuffed in his pockets and was looking down.  
"Who do they think they are?" Danny grumbled under his breath, "I'm not in love with Sam."  
The teen suddenly felt his feet give way and he fell forward. Standing up and brushing the dirt from his shirt, Danny saw a large seed pod and realized he had tripped over it.  
The teen's blood boiled and he snarled, "Stupid seed!" and gave it a hard kick, sending it into the bushes. Moments later, a deep growl echoed through the bushes and a human-like plant creature appeared. He carried a spear and had the seed stuck in his grassy forehead.

Danny's eyes widen and he started to back up, saying, "Oops, sorry. I didn't notice you, dude."  
The teen stopped when his back bumped into another plant man. He turned around and noticed two more plant men coming from the forest. They gathered around Danny, pointing their weapons at the teen.  
"Wait!" he pleaded, "I'm one of the Chosen Ones. I'm here to help the island."

The plant men stopped advancing and the bigger one, the leader, sneered, "Oh, really? Then you're the guy we've been lookin' for."  
Another monster added, "Yes, the Mawgu was sayin' that the Chosen Ones must be destroyed..."  
"...And we just happened to be in the neighborhood hunting for them," finished the other plant man.  
The fourth one directed his spear to Danny's neck. "So, do ya wanna go the short, painless way? Or the long, very painful way?"

The teen's heart was pounding in his chest and sweat poured from his head. Danny knew he could handle one of these plant monsters on his own but four was another matter. Without another hesitation, the teen dashed into the forest, barely dodging a thrown spear.  
"After him, you nincompoops!" the leader yelled at his comrades.  
The four plant monsters began chasing Danny through the rain forest.

At the Mermec's camp, the team was still waiting for Danny's return. They didn't have to wait any longer; the teen burst from the bushes and skittered to a stop in front of the group.  
"Danny!" cheered Spongebob, "You're back! We were starting to think you got into some hot ocean water."  
Suddenly, the bushed cleared again and the plant monsters appeared.  
Danny turned to the uninvited guests and transformed into Danny Phantom. "And you thought right."

The team quickly prepared to fight, taking out their weapons, when Eirk came over and stood between the two.  
"Wait, Chosen Ones, wait!" pleaded the Mermec, "These are the Florians, our friends."  
Danny crossed his arms and replied, "Well, your 'friends' are hunting us down, the Chosen Ones."  
"What?!" exclaimed Eirk and the team. The Mermec turned to the Florians.

"Is this true?"  
The leader laughed and snarled, "Of course it's true! The Mawgu has promised us great rewards if we destroy the Chosen Ones."  
"That doesn't sound like the Florians I know," said Eirk, "They'll never pledge an alliance to that monster, no matter the rewards."  
The Florian leader growled, "Quiet! We're here to do our job, not chitchat!" He pointed towards the Chosen Ones and roared, "ATTACK!"

The plant men lunged forward at the group with their spears. The leader brazenly shoved Eirk to the side and stabbed a spear at Sam. The goth lept out of the way just in time and Danny delivered a powerful punch to the monster's face.  
Meanwhile, the others were handling the Florian grunts; Jimmy blasted tornado winds, Timmy launched several star flingers and Spongebob blew bubble bombs. Nearby, Sandy was karate-chopping one Florian while Patrick was spinning his arms around at another. The team outnumbered the plant people and soon had them defeated.

The Florians lay in a heap, sore and stunned. Eirk and Guil, who had arrived earlier, tried them up with a strong rope.  
Suddenly, Queen Anorra came running to the group. "What has happened?"  
"Your majesty," replied Guil, "these Florians attacked the Chosen Ones, saying that the Mawgu will reward them if they destroyed them."  
Anorra gazed down at the plant men. She noticed a trickle of purple ooze from one of the members' mouth.

"No," she muttered, gathering the ooze with a leaf, "not the Florians."  
Jimmy asked, "What is it, Anorra?"  
"These Florians have been in contact with the purple ooze from the Mawgu."  
Spongebob gasped, "Oh no! Shelly said that goo was bad."

"And there's more," continued the queen and she studied the goo some more. "It looks like this ooze came from the river the Florians drink. It appears that they have been brainwashed by this ooze to serve the Mawgu."  
Sam exclaimed, "It's an environmental apocalypse! We hafta stop them!"  
Queen Anorra nodded, "If we could stop the flow of purple ooze from entering the river, the Florians would be free. But first we must find the source."

"Ya'll want our help, queenie?" asked Sandy, "You got it!"  
Anorra smiled, "Thank you. You should then start looking at the beginning of the river." She turned to the two Mermec tribesmen. "Eirk and Guil, you are going with them. Show the Chosen Ones the way and protect them."  
The Mermecs bowed and said, "Yes, your majesty."

Danny returned his gaze at the tied up Florians. "What's gonna happen to them?"  
"I have some special healing potions that will destroy the ooze," she said. "They'll recover from their brainwashing in no time."  
Jimmy asked, an idea forming in his mind, "Do you mind if we borrow some of those healing potions so we can destroy the ooze?"  
The queen smiled, "Actually, you wouldn't need them; the Amber Stone will purify the river."

"Huh?!" the ganged exclaimed.  
Eirk said, "That's right; the stone has the power will reverse the purple ooze's effect, according to legend."  
"Cool! That'll work!" said Timmy.  
Guil commented, "We better head off, then. The way to the river's beginning is not far. Follow us."

The group and two Mermecs headed off into the forest. Behind them, Queen Anorra shouted, "Good luck, Chosen Ones!" 

* * *

After a few minutes of trekking through the steamy jungle, Jimmy gave Timmy a hard nudge.  
"What?" snapped the bucktooth boy. The genius rolled his eyes to Danny. Timmy was confused for a second but then got the hint.  
Grumbling, he got the teen's attention, "Uh, Danny?"  
"Yeah, what's up, Timmy?" asked the ghost boy.

The bucktooth boy swallowed his pride and said, "I'm sorry that I teased you about...you know."  
Danny raised his eyebrows in confusion but then realized what the kid was talking about. "Oh...it's okay. Apology accepted."  
"Really?" asked Timmy.  
The teen nodded and smiled, "Yeah, we're best friends, aren't we?"

Suddenly, Danny playfully grabbed the bucktooth kid in a headlock with one arm and noogied his brown hair with another. "Just don't do it again, squirt."  
Timmy snarled as he struggled in the teen's grip, "Dude! Leggo!" Behind them, Jimmy covered his mouth to keep from laughing.  
Sam turned around and saw the scene. At first she thought Timmy had upset Danny again, but noticed that the teen was smiling and chuckling.

The goth couldn't help but grin. Seeing Danny playing around made her really happy. For a while now, Sam was beginning to develop a crush on Danny but was still unsure if the teen felt the same way.

She sighed and said to the boys, "Alright, break it up you guys."  
The sound of Sam's voice made the ghost teen's spine tingle. He dumped Timmy to the ground and stood straight up.  
"We're just kiddin' around, Sam," replied Danny as he helped the bucktooth boy up.  
Timmy agreed, saying, "Yeah, that's what guys do; mess with each other."

"But we really should get going, though," commented Jimmy. As the two boys headed to the front, Sam and Danny trailed in the back.  
The goth asked, "So, are you feeling better?"  
"Better?" replied the teen, confused, "About what?"  
Sam shrugged, "Well, the guys told me Timmy ticked you off somehow and Jimmy said it was because you were stressed about saving our worlds. My question is; is that true?"

Danny's eyes widen in realization. He shyly turned his head away from the goth, unsure how to answer. "Uh..."  
"C'mon, now," pressed Sam, scooting closer, "you can tell me. What really happened?"  
The ghost teen tugged at his collar and gulped. That funny feeling was welling up inside again...  
"Heh, I'm just playin' with you!" revealed the goth and gave him a gentle push. "You don't hafta tell me if you don't feel like it."

As she wandered up to the front of the group, Danny let out a big sigh. _Oh, thank goodness,_ thought the teen; he really didn't want to tell her then. Another thought came into his mind, _But maybe I could...no, she won't take it seriously._.. _or I can try...nah..._

These thoughts mingled in Danny's mind as he and the team trekked through the forest. Lost in thought, the teen bumped into Eirk who had stopped.  
"Here is it!" stated the Mermec. He was standing near a cave where the river came bubbling through. They could see a purple tint in the water.  
Patrick was about to stick his hand in the river when Guil held him back. "Although the purple ooze won't make the Chosen Ones evil and corrupt, it burns like fire if touched."

"I don't want my hands to burn like fire," replied the sea star, jerking his stubby hand away.  
Jimmy looked back at the cave. "That ooze must be coming from inside the cave. Let's go in."  
The group followed a dry path into the cavern that led deeper inside. Light beamed down from several holes in the tunnel. Soon, the team had reached the river's start; a large but shallow pool of water that was slowly being filled by a small waterfall from above.

Eirk grew concerned, "This isn't right; that waterfall should be much bigger."  
"Yes," added Guil, "something must be blocking it."  
Timmy pointed up at the waterfall's crest. "Could that be it?"  
The group followed the bucktooth boy's gaze and noticed a wooden dam that had blocked the river.

Eirk nodded. "Looks like it," said the Mermec, "We have to destroy it before-"

"BEFORE, WHAT?"

A deep bellow from inside the cave startled the team. From a corner of the cavern, a large, shadowy shape appeared. After coming into the light, the creature took the form of a giant, leafy cabbage with a round head in the middle. It glowed an eerie purple.  
Guil gasped as he recognized the voice. "It can't be..."  
"But it is," finished Eirk, just as shocked, "that's King Gorge!"

Spongebob exclaimed, "King Gorge?! The same King Gorge that rules the Florians?"  
The monster roared, "THE ONE AND ONLY!"  
"Perhaps when he was kidnapped by the Mawgu's minions," concluded Jimmy, "they transformed him into a monster using the purple ooze."  
Danny turned to the Mermecs. "Guys, we'll distract him while you go and destroy that dam."

"Understood, Chosen Ones!" replied the two and they rushed up the trail to the top. King Gorge saw what they were doing and raised a enormous leaf to smack them down. But he was stopped by Sam's Peeler suit, which sliced the leaf in half.  
"King Gorge, stop this madness!" pleaded the goth, her ray gun smoking. "Release the waters and free your people!"  
The monster sneered as the torn leaf grew back, "HAH! YOU SO-CALLED CHOSEN ONES!" He then lowered his head to the team's height. "MY MASTER, THE MAWGU, WHO RULES FROM THE VOLCANO, SAYS THAT ALL SHOULD BECOME ONE WITH THE OOZE!"

King Gorge roared then in their faces, "SUBMIT!"  
Danny stood firm, as did the others. "No way!" he shouted back, "We're ending this now!"  
A smile, similar to a pumpkin carving, showed the purple glow from within King Gorge. "NOT IF I END YOU FIRST!"  
With that said, he stabbed his leaves into the ground below. They traveled underground to the team and burst out from under them. The leaves grabbed the stunned group and held each one aloft in a tight grip.

"AAH! I can't break free!" Timmy screamed, struggling.  
Danny tried to move his arms, but they were pinned against his sides. "Me neither, but we can't give up now!"  
The ghost hero turned to face the monster and took a deep breath. Realizing what he was going to do, King Gorge squeezed Danny tighter. Exhaling, the teen felt as though his chest was going to cave in; even worse, he couldn't take a breath.

"Oh no, Danny!" shouted Jimmy, seeing what was happening. Reaching into his pocket (his arms were free), the genius took out a laser and sliced the root holding the ghost teen. Danny dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. Once again, the root grew back and was about to strike the weakened teen.  
Danny saw it coming and let loose a powerful blast of ice. The cold froze the plant's tendrils in place.  
"It's time for you to chill out, your highness!" shouted the teen.

King Gorge roared as the others freed themselves from his grip; Timmy chewed through the leaf using his bucktooth, Spongebob and Sandy karate chopped the roots into pieces and Jimmy cut the tendrils holding Sam and Patrick with his laser.  
Once the whole team was on the cave floor again, the monster roared, "IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT MORE THAN THAT TO DEFEAT ME!"  
"Then, what about this?"

The grouped lifted their heads up and saw the two Mermec on top of the dam. With their spears, they stabbed the dam and it began to crumble. At the last second, Eirk and Guil lept from the collapsing structure and onto the cave floor with the others.  
A sudden surge of water broke over the falls, drenching the entire floor. The team braced themselves over the surge and clung to one another. After the water had died down, the group was left dripping but unharmed.  
"Whoa," mused Danny as he held Sam, "that was more intense then Wet World."

The goth nodded, "Yeah, sure was."  
The two teens then realized what they were doing and broke apart. Danny sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while Sam shyly stroked her arm.  
"Hey," asked Spongebob, looking around, "where's King Gorge?"  
Eirk craned his neck to the entrance of the cave. "He must have been swept out to the river. Let's go find him."

The group raced back to the river. They saw that the king was lying in a heap in the river, noticeably unconscious.  
Danny took out the Amber Stone. "You said that the Amber Stone will purify the river, right, Eirk?"  
"That's right," answered the Mermec.  
The teen dipped the stone into the river. "Well, let's see if the legend is true."

Water flowed under and over the Amber stone, but nothing happened.  
Danny was confused, "Huh? Why isn't it working?"  
"Lemme try," said Sam and she rushed to his side.  
When the goth placed her hands on the stone, it began to glow a warm light from within.

As the team watched in awe, the light extended throughout the river and removed the purple tint. When it reached the fallen king, it bathed him in a golden light. Slowly, King Gorge transformed back to his original size and shape; a pickle-like body with leaves for arms and legs.  
Eirk and Guil gasped and helped the king to his feet. "King Gorge, are you alright?"

The king opened his eyes and stared at the lads with his bearded face. "Ah, what happened?" he said with a stately voice.  
The team gathered around the confused king. Looking up at them, Gorge gasped, "Are you the Chosen Ones?"  
"That's what everyone tells us," answered Danny. "C'mon, we'll bring you back to the Mermec's tribe."

As the group headed back to the camp, Spongebob asked out loud, "I wonder why the Amber Stone glowed when Danny and Sam both touched it?"  
"Maybe that's how it reacts to being in contact with two living beings," suggested Jimmy, "but I'm not sure myself."  
Timmy said, "Well, whatever it is, at least the stone works, and that's what's important, right?"

"Yeah," replied Danny, although he was just as curious as they were. Shrugging it off, though, the heroes started through the jungle back to the tribe.


	6. Chapter 6

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 6: Love and Monsters 

After the gang defeated and returned King Gorge to the Mermec tribe, he and his soldiers were receiving treatment at the medical hut. As all the purple ooze was destroyed by Queen Anorra's spells, they reverted back to their normal selves. Once the Florians realized what had happened, they were apologizing like crazy to the team.  
"Forgive us, Chosen Ones!" begged the leader as he bowed low.  
"We were completely under the control of the Mawgu!"  
"His powers were simply too strong to overcome!"

Danny tried to calm them down, saying, "It's okay, we forgive you. We're just glad everyone's safe."  
That seemed to make things worse for the heroes as the Florians began kissing their feet.  
"Thank you for sparing us, great ones, thank you!" they said.  
The team felt a little embarrassed with all the attention, but Patrick just giggled, "Haha, that tickles!"

Anorra raised her head to the Florians. She was leaning over on the cot where King Gorge laid on. "Florians, your king is awake."  
The plant people rushed over to the pickle man who was starting to regain consciousness and sat up.  
"Ah, I feel much better. Thank you, Anorra," he said with a smile as he slid out of the cot.  
The queen smiled, "Of course, but it was the Chosen Ones who purified the river and reversed your condition."

King Gorge caught sight of the heroes and nodded. "You have my eternal gratitude, Chosen Ones. I only ask one favor; please stop the Mawgu. He is cause of  
all of this evil."  
"That's what we're here for!" replied Timmy as he puffed out his chest.  
Danny did the same, "We'll do what ever it takes to defeat that monster!"  
"Yeah!" cheered Spongebob, but then asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Jimmy thought for a moment and said, "We should probably head back to Shelly; he might be worried about us."  
"So I take it you're heading back to the Crab's village?" inquired Guil, who was sitting on a cot next to Eirk.  
The genius nodded, "That's right. I think I can redesign the map he gave us to find the Amber Stone so we can backtrack to camp."  
"Sounds difficult," replied Spongebob.

Jimmy smiled, "Don't worry; I'll have it finished in about an hour. In the meantime, you guys can relax."  
Timmy stretched and yawned. "Good. All this 'saving the worlds' and stuff is exhausting; I need a nap."  
The others nodded and headed back to their temporary hut, leaving Jimmy and the two tribes alone in the medical tent. Danny, however, stayed behind and sat against a palm tree, thinking. Spongebob noticed the teen's behavior and rushed over.

"Hey, Danny, are you okay?" asked the sponge.  
The ghost teen lifted his head and blinked. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. I'm just thinkin', that's all."  
Sitting next to Danny, Spongebob pressed, "What are you thinkin' about?"  
The teen stiffened a little. But after looking at the sponge's innocent face, he sighed. "If I told you, would you keep it a secret from the others?"

Spongebob beamed, "Sure, no problem. And it'll be a pinky swear, too." The sponge held up the said finger.  
Danny chuckled, "All right, then."  
After a quick swear, the teen started, "Well, here's the thing..."  
"Yes?" said the sponge as he listened intently.

Danny bit his lower lip, doubtful. But after another deep breath, he finally said, "I think I maybe, just maybe, have...you know..."  
"You think you have a crush on Sam, don't ya?" finished Spongebob.  
The teen was about to protest, but just weakly smiled.  
The sponge gave Danny a big hug. "Oh, I knew it! I knew it all along! You and Sam go together like sea-nut butter and jellyfish jelly!"

"Shh! Not so loud!" hushed the teen as he gently pushed him away. "Besides, I don't even know if it's...real or somethin'.  
Spongebob's eyes widen in shock, "You don't know if it's...c'mon, Danny, stop kiddin' yourself; of course it's real!"  
"Really?" asked Danny.  
The sponge nodded eagerly and continued, "In fact, I have a feeling that Sam...well, feels the same thing about you."

"Huh?" the teen squawked, stunned. "Could that be true?"  
Spongebob put his arm around Danny. "I'm not sure myself, but if I've learned anything about love, and I've learned a lot, it's to prepare for the unexpected."  
"Okay, I think I get it," said the teen, still unsure. But then he asked, "Well, what about you and Sandy?"  
Spongebob cocked his square head, "Huh?"

"You heard me; I think you have a crush on that squirrel friend of yours."  
The sponge startled, "What?! I have no idea what you're talkin' about." He folded his arms and turned away.  
Danny chuckled again, smiling. "Oh, really? Then why are acting so defensive?"  
"I'm not actin' defensive!" protested Spongebob, "Geez, you sound just like Gary."

The teen gave the sponge a gentle punch on his arm. "C'mon, you said so yourself; prepare for the unexpected."  
"Well, I..." Spongebob trailed off when he saw Sandy and Sam conversing with each other.  
Danny saw the two and asked, "What do you think they're talking about?"  
"Maybe about us..." wondered Spongebob, but then quickly added after the teen gave him a look. "I mean, about you. Sam's maybe talkin' about you." The teen rolled his eyes at the sheepish Spongebob.

"...so back in Texas, we call ice cream, frozen cow juice," Sandy was telling Sam.  
The goth nodded, but she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. "Uh huh, interesting."  
Sandy noticed this and asked, "What's on yer mind, Sam?"  
"Oh, nothing. I'm just...letting my thoughts drift," she answered, twiddling her fingers.

The squirrel tried again, "Ah, shucks, ya'll don't need ta be shy 'bout it. You can tell me."  
"Uh..." Sam stuttered, not sure what to say.  
Sandy smiled as she added, "And don't worry, I'll won't tell a single soul. A Texas Squirrel's promise."  
The goth gave her another look and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll tell you..."

Carefully, Sam told Sandy what was bugging her. After she was done, the squirrel nodded, understanding.  
"So, yer tellin' me that you have a crush on Danny, but yer not sure how to tell 'em."  
Sam lowered her head, "Yeah, and I'm not even sure if it's real."  
The two girls sat in silence, thinking deeply, until Sandy said, "Well, I would like to help ya, but I've got my own host of problems."

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.  
The squirrel rubbed the back of her furry neck, "Well, ya see...between you and me...I think Spongebob's kinda cute."  
"So you like Spongebob?"  
Sandy stiffened, "That I'm not so sure. And I don't think he feels the same way, ya know what I mean?"  
Sam looked down and muttered, "Yeah, I know what you mean..."

"HEY, GUYS!"

A loud call got the boys' and girls' attention. It was Jimmy, who had poked his head out from the tent.  
"The map's ready! Let's get packin'!" 

* * *

Soon, the entire team was ready and were saying goodbye to the Mermec queen and Florian king.  
"Again," Danny was saying, "thanks for helping me and my friends. I doubt we would've made it this far if it haven't been for you and your tribe."  
Anorra beamed, as did Eirk and Guil. "Of course, anytime, Chosen Ones," replied the queen.  
"I wish you all the best of luck," stated King Gorge, "you have my blessing."

After a final nod, the gang departed deep into the forest once again, this time with Jimmy leading the way. They trekked through the thicket for about an hour until they came to an open field, filled with beautiful flowers.  
"Whoa," mused Timmy as he looked around, "did we stumble upon a little girl's fantasy?"  
Jimmy shook his head. "Nope. These are real, organic flowers. Their colors are so vivid because of the nutritious soil from the volcano."

"Wait, the volcano?" asked Spongebob, "Doesn't the volcano usually burn things to the ground?"  
The genius explained, "At first, the lava will destroy everything in sight, but after it cools and crumbles, it will contain all the nutrition plants would need to grow and reproduce."  
"Oh, I guess that makes sense...somehow."

Jimmy pointed ahead, "Once we cross this field, we should be at the Crab's village."  
With that said, the team walked through the meadow. For the first time, the flower field made the heroes start to relax, as if the stress was melting away from their bodies.  
Sandy took a deep breath and sighed, "Golly, these flowers smell sweeter than honey on comb."  
"You got that right," agreed Spongebob as he picked a stunning bloom and showed it to the squirrel.

The sponge said, "But I think this'll look fantastic on you."  
Sandy grinned and placed the flower between her ear. "Why, I'll be tickled pink! Thanks, Spongebob."  
Beaming a happy smile, Spongebob started skipping through the meadow, plucking several other flowers. He then noticed that one stood out in particular; a red-black rose had poked out from the gathering of blooms.  
The sponge got an idea and picked the rose, careful not to get stabbed by its thorns. Hiding it behind his back, Spongebob bounded over to Danny.

"Here you are, Danny," said the yellow sponge and showed the flower to the teen, winking.  
Danny was confused at first, but then got the hint; he took the bloom from Spongebob's hand and turned to Sam.  
"Hey, Sam," said the teen, "Check this out!"  
The goth turned and gasped when she saw the rose. "Wow, a black rose! It's super rare to find one in the wild."

"Really? Then that's makes it one of a kind," replied Danny. Then he added shyly, "Just like you,"  
Sam blushed a little at the comment as she put the rose on one side of her black hair. "Aw, that's so sweet of you, Danny."  
"Yeah," said the ghost teen as he reddened, too. "I'm a sweet guy."  
Meanwhile, Jimmy heard the entire conversation between the teens behind him. The genius started to worry a little...

"There it is!" shouted Patrick, interrupting everyone's thoughts.  
Timmy exclaimed, anticipating an attack, "What?! Where is it?"  
The sea star pointed ahead and the team realized they were standing on a hill overlooking the crab village.  
"Oh! We're back!" said the bucktooth kid in relief.  
Jimmy replied, "Yep, now let's go and find Shelly. I'm sure he's-"

"AAH!"

A scream startled the heroes and they saw a horde of crabs racing toward them. As they past the group, they could hear their yelling,  
"The Great C-C-Carapace!"  
"He has come to life!"  
"And he's destroying our village!"  
"Run for it!"

After the mob had left, the heroes heard a loud roar from the village.  
Danny said to the others, "Looks like there's a monster rampaging through the town."  
"Oh, gee," said Timmy sarcastically, "ya think?"  
Giving the kid a glare to shut him up, the teen continued, "Jimmy, Timmy, Patrick, Sandy and Sam; I want you guys to led the crabs away from the village. Me and Spongebob will stop that monster."

"Yeah!" cheered the sponge and then he said, "Wait, we'll do what now?"  
Danny didn't answer and grabbed him, rushing towards the center of town. After they had gotten close enough and climbed a mound of sand that acted as a ramp, the two realized that the monster was in a pit surrounded by a pointed, wooden fence.  
Spongebob gasped, "It's a huge sand monster, with a big wooden shell!"

Danny then spied something on another pile of sand not far away. It was Shelly!  
"SHELLY!" the two exclaimed together.  
The wise old crab turned to the sponge and teen, but it was too late; the sand monster saw him first and picked him up with its gritty hand. Danny and Spongebob watched in horror as the beast tossed the crab into the air and caught him in its mouth, swallowing the defenseless crab.

"NOO! Not Shelly!" screamed the sponge and he was about to dash into the pit when the ghost teen grabbed him by the shirt collar.  
"Spongebob, wait! If you go down there, that monster will gobble you up too," Danny warned.  
The sponge turned to the teen in fright. "But we hafta save Shelly!"  
"And we will," consulted Danny, "Just lemme think for a sec."

Just then, the sand monster noticed the two boys and roared. It gathered a giant fistful of sand and flung it at them.  
"Yikes! Look out!" cried Spongebob and he and Danny jumped out of the way. The teen watched as the glob of sand crashed into the sea nearby and broke apart. The sand's disintegration in the water gave Danny an idea.  
"Spongebob!" he said, turning to the sea creature. "I need some water!"

The sponge stared at him in confusion. "Danny, I told you to get a drink before we left."  
"No, that's not it," groaned the teen as he explained, "I need you to soak up water and hose that sand monster down."  
Spongebob's eyes lit up in realization. "Oh! Then why didn't you say so! I'll be right back!"  
The sponge dashed to the beach as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, Danny began distracting the beast from attacking any of the crabs.

"Hey, ugly! Over here!" shouted the teen. When the monster turned to him, he blasted it with several ghost and ice rays, stopping the beast momentarily. Suddenly, Danny noticed Sam just below him, helping a young crab escape. Just seeing her gave the teen the strength to continue fighting.  
All of the sudden, a dull _BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!,_ sounding like giant footsteps, echoed through the village. An enormous, swollen yellow form appeared, almost as big as the sand monster. It came to a stop next to Danny on the sand ramp, dripping sea water.

"I'M READY!" it gurgled in Spongebob's voice.  
With a cringe, the water-logged sponge blasted water from his mouth. The monster became drenched in the liquid and its sand was starting to crumble to the ground. As more water flowed from Spongebob, he grew smaller until he was back to his normal size. The giant sand monster had completely collapsed; all that was left was a giant pile of sand.

The two cheered until Spongebob exclaimed, "Wait! Where's Shelly?"  
His question was answered when, a the very top of the pile, the crab shook off the excess sand from himself.  
"As foretold in legend!" he exclaimed, smiling at the two heroes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 7: Sleepless Night

After the village was saved from the sand monster, Shelly and the crabs were safely returned to the town. Fortunately the beast was confined to the pit and there was little damage to the structures.  
"Thank you, Chosen Ones!" the shaman crab was saying to Danny, Spongebob and the others. "You have saved us! We will make you honorary members of our tribe, for all of eternity!"  
The crabs cheered and snapped their claws in appreciation. Having all of this attention made the team feel a little shy.

Not long after, Shelly had led the heroes into his shaman hut. Inside, there were collections of stones, leaves and berries of all sizes and colors. Scrolls of paper hung on the sides and several different staffs were lined up on a rack.  
"So this is where you do all of your spells, Shelly?" asked Timmy, looking around.  
The shaman crab nodded. "Oh yes, absolutely. I've collected all of these ingredients over the years."

He motioned the others to sit on some woolen mats. Once everyone was seated, Shelly squatted down and began speaking, "So, have you found the Amber Stone?"  
Sam dug into one of the knapsacks, took out the red stone and gave it to the old crab.  
Shelly analyzed the stone, turning it over in his claws. "Yes...yes, this is it! The sacred Amber Stone!"  
"Is it the same Amber Stone that's gonna defeat the Mawgu?" asked Spongebob.

The old crab nodded as he gave it back to the goth, "This is the one; use its power wisely, though."  
"That's perfect, then," said Jimmy as he stood up, "I'll start working on the Rip-Zipper right away!"  
Shelly stared at him. "Now why would you want to do that, especially since there's going to be a celebration tonight?"  
"Celebration?" asked Danny, "What are you guys celebrating?"

The crab smiled, "Why, the annual Island Harvest Festival! Even if the Mawgu is breathing down our backs, we have our Chosen Ones to protect us; it's definitely not going to stop us from celebrating!"  
"So we're invited to all this celebratin'?" asked Sandy.  
The wise crab gleamed in excitement, "Of course! You're our guests of honor!"

Patrick's eyes widen. "Yippee, guests of honor!...What does that mean?"  
"It means we're gonna have a good time," explained Wanda.  
Shelly nodded as he left the tent, "Indeed. We'll be expecting you, Chosen Ones. I'm off to prepare the festival with the other crabs."

After the wise crab had left, the team decided to turn in at their camp. When they arrived, the hut was still in it's place, hardly touched. The heroes relaxed in the hut for some time, talking about their plan of attack for the Mawgu. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a young crab, who peeked in shyly.  
"Uh, great Chosen Ones?" it asked tentatively, "The...festival is...ready."  
Danny turned to the skittish crab and smiled. "Okay, cool. We can't wait to see it."

"Uh huh," the crab stuttered, brushing its claws together.  
The teen cocked his head, confused at the crab's behavior. Danny dropped to one knee at the crab's height. "Hey, you alright, little guy?" he asked, concerned.  
The crab slowly looked up, his expression fearful. "I-I-I'm just a little nervous; I never thought I-I would be rescued by the Chosen Ones myself."  
Danny was still confused until Sam squatted down next to him. "You're the crab I saved from that sand monster, aren't you?"

"He is?" asked the teen.  
The crab continued, "I was gonna thank you for saving me, but...I was just to scared."  
Danny smiled and inquired, "What's your name, little guy?"  
"Torren," answered the crab kid.

"Well, Torren, there's really nothing you should be afraid about us. We're here to help stop the Mawgu."  
Torren's eyes widen in excitement. "Really? You're gonna do it?"  
"Yeah, of course," said Sam. "Why? Didja think we weren't?  
The kid crab cringed a little, but stood tall. "No, I never doubted you. It's just that some of the other crabs didn't think you could pull it off."

Danny blinked and said, "I see..." The teen then puffed out his chest and put on a brave face. "Well, those guys are wrong; we're gonna save this island and defeat that Mawgu guy, no matter what happens."  
Torren beamed and cheered. As the two teens stood back up, the kid crab heard a conch-horn and said, "C'mon, the festival's starting!"

The crab scuttled down to the beach with the team following. Up ahead, a large, luau-like party was in full swing; dancers in grass skirts and coconut bras hula around several wooden tikis. A bonfire with a spit was blazing in the moonlight, roasting many fruit and berry sish kabobs with a stage set behind it. The atmosphere was joyous and festive among the crabs.  
The moment the heroes stepped in, the islanders cheered and snapped their claws again.

As they walked through the throng, Jimmy pointed out, "It looks like they use their claws to applaud, as we would use our hands."  
"Hey, that looks like fun!" exclaimed Cosmo and he transformed into a crab. The fairy snipped his claws along with the crowd.  
Once the team had reached the stage, Shelly, who was on it, motioned the others to join him. After they had boarded the stage, the wise crab took out a beautiful conch and blew through it. A low, trumpeting sound echoed through the island, silencing the crowd.

"Ah, that's better," said Shelly as he put the shell away and cleared his throat. "Crablettes and Crabmen of all ages, it is with great honor that I, Shelly, present to you, the legendary...Chosen Ones!"  
An ecstatic ovation from the crab crowd made the team feel humble.  
After the villagers quieted down, Shelly continued, "Let's wish them luck, everyone, and give them a celebration they'll never forget!"

Another cheer went up and the festival started up again. The team soon received a table filled with lots of fruit and berries.  
Just the scent itself made Patrick drool. "Oh, they look so good."  
"Go on, now," coaxed the wise crab, "dig in! Don't be shy; there's plenty of food."  
Timmy smiled as he reached for a mango. "You don't need to tell us twice."

The heroes were soon gorging themselves with the fruit. After a couple minutes, the gang had eaten their fill and were beginning to relax.  
Timmy let out a burp and leaned back. "Ah, it's good to be the Chosen One."  
"You got that right," agreed Jimmy as he patted his full belly.  
Spongebob hiccuped and said, "Boy, who knew these crabs would be such great cooks? I should reference them to Mr. Krabs."

Suddenly, calypso-type stirred through the party. The band playing the music was on stage and used conga drums, gourd rattles, rhythm sticks and ukuleles. A moment later, a few she-crabs made their way to center stage and began hula dancing.  
Patrick had a dopey look on his face again. "Ooh, I wanna try!"  
One of the crabs heard him and tossed the sea star a hula grass skirt. Smiling, Patrick slipped into the garment and started dancing near the bonfire.

Two more hula skirts were flung to Spongebob and Sandy. They too put them on and joined the sea star. Danny was watching the three friends until he felt a tug on his arm. Uncomfortably standing up, the teen saw that it was Sam.  
"C'mon, let's try it out!" she tempted.  
The flustered ghost hero chirped an "Okay," and the two teens accompanied the others.

At first, Danny was a little clumsy, as was Sam. But soon, they were dancing smoothly, the teen holding the goth's hands. The two of them twirled and shimmied, slowly growing oblivious to the others. It really felt as if the whole universe was revolving around just them.  
"Hm, I never would've guessed you were a good dancer," mused Sam as she swayed back and forth to the beat.  
Danny smiled as he moved his shoulders up and down, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about you."

As they danced more, the two teens came a little closer. After a couple of days fighting the Mawgu's minions, searching for the Amber Stone and saving entire tribes, they were finally beginning to enjoy themselves.  
Suddenly, the music stopped, snapping the two teens from their trance. They realized that the crabs and their friends were watching them the whole time, even Spongebob, Sandy and Patrick. The audience applauded at the teens' dancing.

Finally comprehending the situation, Danny shyly put his hands behind his back and sheepishly smiled. Sam rubbed the back of her neck and timidly looked over at her friend.  
After the teens had retired back to their seats, Timmy rolled his eyes as he said to Jimmy, "Can you believe those two? All lovey-dovey and stuff; it makes me wanna barf."  
"Yeah," replied the genius, looking at Danny and Sam. "I'm getting a little worried."

The bucktooth raised an eyebrow, "Worried? Why?" Then he palmed-faced. "Oh, don't tell me that you have a crush on Sam and you want to get Danny away from her."  
Jimmy glared at Timmy, "That's not it at all! I'm just concerned that since Danny has all of his attention drawn to Sam, he'll have none to spare when we go up against the Mawgu."  
"Really?" asked the bucktooth, "I hadn't noticed it. Danny's been as strong and attentive as usual for the past three days."

The genius, however, didn't seemed convinced. "I know, but..."  
"C'mon," said Timmy, handing him a piece of fruit. "Let's not talk about that and let's instead enjoy the party."  
Jimmy looked at him for a second before taking the food. The genius shrugged, realizing that maybe he was overreacting and began chewing the fruit. 

* * *

The party continued for several more hours until a bright full moon hung in the night sky. The four boys had left the party and were laying on top of a leafy platform, giving them a clear view of the sky.  
"Wow, that moon sure is pretty tonight," Spongebob reflected.  
Timmy nodded, "Yeah, and a lot bigger, too."

"Well, it's actually an illusion," explained Jimmy, "although I'm not sure how it works or what causes it."  
Danny turned his head to the genius. "The great and wise Jimmy Neutron has no clue why the moon looks bigger?"  
"Hey, it's not me," protested the boy genius, "it's the scientists who have no clue why the moon looks bigger."  
Timmy said, "It would still be awesome to go there. With all that low gravity and stuff, I'd be bouncing and flying all over the place."

"Hm, maybe if you're nice to me," Danny replied, "I could take you there once I become an astronaut."  
Jimmy flipped over to one side to look at the teen. "You want to be an astronaut when you grow up?"  
"Yeah," continued the teen, "ever since I was a little kid I wanted to see what was up there, in space. You know, just out of curiosity."  
Timmy dully pointed out, "I've always wanted to see what made Vicky such a mean babysitter, but you don't see me studying 'Vickyology'.

"But there's no such thing as 'Vickyology', Spongebob said.  
"Exactly."  
"Hey, you guys!" cried out a voice.  
The four boys lifted their heads up and looked down from their perch. Sandy, Sam and Patrick were standing at the bottom.

"There ya'll are," said the squirrel, "we were wonderin' where ya'll took off."  
Patrick looked at Spongebob, teary eyed. "I was worried that something bad happened to you, Spongebob."  
"Oh, there's no need to worry," consulted the sponge, "as long as we stick together, we're safe from those evil minions of the Mawgu."  
Patrick asked, "So does mean I need glue to stick to you guys?"

"No, it doesn't," replied Sandy dully, then she looked up at the boys again. "We're hittin' the hay, boys. See ya'll tomorrow!"  
After the boys said goodnight to Spongebob's friends, Sam was left alone.  
"Sam, aren't you gonna follow them?" asked Danny.  
The goth replied, "Nah, we goths love the dark. Besides, I'm not sleepy yet."

Timmy yawned and stretched, "Well, _I'm_ getting sleepy, so I'll join those two."  
"Right behind ya, Tim," said Jimmy as he and the bucktooth friend jumped down from the platform and made their way into the hut.  
Spongebob carefully climbed down, saying, "I don't like the dark myself, so I'll follow them."  
After the sponge had left, Danny looked over at Sam and said, "So, wanna watch the stars? The view's incredible up here."

"Okay," the goth replied, a little shy. She climbed up to the platform and lay next to her friend. Above them, the stars twinkled in different shades of white and the moonlight gleamed off of every surface. It was, indeed, incredible.  
Danny and Sam silently observed the celestial bodies for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company.

The ghost teen stretched one of his arms behind his head and placed the other on his chest. He slowly transferred his gaze at the stars to the goth. Her black hair fell across her face and her eyes reflected the moon's light. A silly grin crossed the teen's face.  
Sam felt Danny's eyes on her and looked at her friend. Once she saw him, the ghost hero cringed and turned his head away. Seeing his black hair drape over his sky blue eyes made the goth smile.

Soon the two friends began to relax as they watched the stars play into the night... 

* * *

_Danny leapt as high as he could to pound the monster's rocky face. The punch connected, but it hardly did any damage. Instead, the monster grabbed him in its fist and glared with eerie purple eyes.  
"Fool! Did you really think you could destroy me?" it roared.  
Danny struggled in the fist's grip. "Well, I don't have a chance, but me and my friends do!"_

 _It sneered, "Not for long..." The rock monster lifted up another fist. In it were the others, struggling as hard as Danny.  
"Guys!" exclaimed the teen in horror. He shot daggers at the monster. "Let 'em go!"  
"Oh, I'll let them go," it began, "RIGHT INTO THE VOLCANO!"_

 _Danny gasped in fright as he watched the monster fling his friends deep into the lava pit. Their screams echoed through his ears..._

"NOO!" Danny shouted as he sat up. Blinking, the teen realized he was in his cot. Laying back down, Danny took a few deep breaths to relax and slow his beating heart.  
Spongebob peeked in, looking concerned. "Everything okay, Danny?"  
Timmy poked his head in as well, "Yeah, we heard a scream."

Danny sat up again and swung his legs over the cot. "It's okay, just a dream."  
"Another one?" asked the sponge.  
Jimmy suddenly popped up behind him. "What do you mean, 'another one'?"  
Spongebob explained the last time Danny had a nightmare.

"Well, don't worry, Danny," consulted the genius as the teen joined them, "like you said; it's just a dream."  
Spongebob worried, "But what if that dream was like, ya know, a warning or something."  
"You mean like precognition?" said Jimmy, "That's just a myth."  
Timmy pointed out, "That's what fairies and ghosts are."

The genius was about to reply when Sandy entered the hut. "Mornin', boys! Ya'll ready to head to the volcano?"  
"Yep," answered Jimmy, "the Neutronic Rip-Zipper is complete!"  
Danny said, "Cool, let's get going then!"

The boys and squirrel left the hut and met up with the others outside.  
Sam and Patrick were waiting patiently next to a strange contraption. It was made of thick vines that acted as a stand and created a depression on top. Sitting in it was the Amber Stone.  
The sea star hugged the device. "This thing is gonna save the world!"

"Patrick, be careful!" warned Jimmy, gently taking the contraption from his hands. "It's very sensitive."  
Timmy poked the device and asked, "Are we really gonna carry this thing all the way to the volcano? It looks heavy."  
"It sure is," Jimmy answered, "but I got it covered."  
The genius took out his Hyper Cube and pressed a button. A beam of light from it enveloped the device and teleported it into the cube. "There we go," said Jimmy and he put the device in his pocket.

Suddenly, Shelly came up racing up to them.  
"Chosen Ones! I have grave news!" exclaimed the wise old crab as he skittered to a stop in front of the heroes.  
Danny frowned. "That doesn't sound good; what's up?"  
"My spells for slowing down the Mawgu have been broken!"

Spongebob cowered, biting his fingernails. "What does that mean?"  
"It means we've gotta get our butts up there if we wanna save the multiverse!" said Jimmy as he looked at the smoldering volcano.  
Danny pounded a fist into his hands, transforming into his ghost form. "There's no time to waste, then. Let's roll!"

The team took off towards the rain forest that lead to the volcano. Behind them, Shelly yelled, "Good luck, Chosen Ones!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 8: Journey to the Volcano 

The team trekked quickly deep into the forest, passing through broad leaves and tall palm trees.  
Danny, who was leading the group, came into a clearing. He stopped and looked back as the rest joined him.  
Timmy leaned on his knees, panting. "Dude...can we...slow down?"  
The ghost teen shook his head, even though he was puffing too. "We can't. Every second we wait, the Mawgu's gaining more energy from our worlds."

"I understand, Danny," said Spongebob as he gasped, "but we..." The sponge trailed off and his eyes widen in fear, lookin past the teen.  
Danny raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

Timmy shuddered and pointed behind him. The ghost teen stiffened and slowly turned around. Standing very close to Danny was an enormous tree monster. It had a huge mouth and sharp fingers on its skinny arms. Most of its body was composed as a giant tee trunk, complete with green foliage on its head.

The tree monster growled and stomped the ground. Thick mud appeared beneath the heroes' feet, causing them to slip and slide.  
"Aw, crud!" sweared Timmy as he tried to stand up.  
Cosmo piped up, "Now that's what I call, a sticky situation!" He laughed at his bad joke, but stopped after receiving a glare from the gang.  
With another stomp, giant acorns fell from its head and dropped towards the team.

"INCOMING!" shouted Jimmy.  
As the team desperately tried to avoid the seed missiles, the monster opened its mouth and hacked a glob of mud at them.  
Danny yelped and blasted the mud away with a powerful ghost ray.  
"Nice shot," commented Spongebob, but then he looked a little closer. "Say, have you gotten shorter?"

The teen replied, confused, "No," but then he looked down and gasped. The mud had risen to his knees!  
"Leaping leptons," cried Jimmy as he struggled, "we're sinking!"  
Now beginning to panic, the team watched as the tree monster raised its arm, preparing to slice the team in half.

"Oh no you don't!" snarled Spongebob as he extended his arm to the monster and gave him a strong karate chop to the head. The attack caused the monster to lose its footing and fall backwards, crashing into the forest behind it.

With the tree monster stunned, the heroes turned their attention to the quicksand. Already the mud had risen close to Danny's chest and almost over Jimmy's and Timmy's heads. Thinking fast, the teen grabbed the duo and used all of his strength to pull them out. He gently tossed them to solid ground.

Next, Danny focused on Spongebob and Patrick, who had almost disappeared beneath the sucking mud. Only their hands were visible. The ghost teen grabbed his friends' hands and chucked them out, flinging the sponge and sea star to the genius and bucktooth boy.

Meanwhile, Sandy had escaped and was tugging Sam out of the sticky mud. With one last heave, the squirrel drug the goth to safety. Now, only Danny was left. The mud now was up to his neck and he was starting to have trouble breathing. A thick vine was tossed to the teen's side and, upon grabbing it, lugged him onto land.

Once everyone was safe, the team took a moment to catch their breath.

"That was close," commented Sam, brushing the mud off her body.  
Sandy added as she did the same, "Dang too close if ya'll ask me."  
"We didn't," pointed out Timmy, wringing his hat.  
Patrick poked Spongebob and mused, "Wow, it's a good thing you gave that beastie a taste of your ka-rah-tay!"

The sponge was silent, laying on his side.  
"Spongebob?" asked the sea star as he turned his friend over.  
"AHH!" screamed Patrick upon looking at Spongebob's face.  
Danny rose his head and gasped. His sea friend was unconscious, completely drenched in sticky mud.

"Spongebob!" the teen exclaimed and he rushed over to the sponge.  
The ghost teen shook Spongebob's shoulders, desperately trying to wake him up.  
"Jimmy!" called Danny, "What's wrong with Spongebob?"  
The genius laid a hand on the sponge's chest. "It looks like that mud is clogging up his pores, leaving no room for water."

"We've gotta help him then!" Timmy pleaded, "What can we do?"  
Jimmy answered, "We need to bring him to a water source. I'm sure there's one not far away."  
With that said, he disappeared into the forest. Carrying Spongebob in his arms, Danny stood up and started following the genius, soon joined by the others. 

* * *

A few minutes later, the gang was still trailing Jimmy. Danny looked again at Spongebob; he was still not responded.  
Patrick sniffed as he stroked the sponge's head. "Oh, why won't you wake up, buddy?"  
"Don't worry, Pat," said the teen, putting on a brave face, "Spongebob's gonna be fine."  
Jimmy suddenly exclaimed, "I found it!"

The gang looked ahead and saw a clear pool of water with a trickle of water flowing from a crack in a rock. Jimmy motioned Danny to come to the edge. The teen knelt down and placed the mud-covered Spongebob in the water. Already, the mud was starting to wash off.

The teen sighed with relief and was about to stand up when lost his balance and fell into the water, along with the sponge. Underwater, the pool was much deeper and Danny floated down almost to the bottom. Opening his eyes, he saw Spongebob was sinking to the floor. The teen swam towards him and landed softly on the bottom next to the sponge. All the mud was washed away and Spongebob returned to his bright yellow self

Suddenly, the sea creature started to come to. He opened his blue eyes and noticed Danny, who was floating next to him smiling with puffed-out cheeks.  
"Oh, hiya Danny," greeted Spongebob, "what happened?"  
The teen pointed to the surface and grabbed the sponge's arm. The two soon burst to the surface, with Danny taking a few breaths of air.  
"Spongebob!" exclaimed Patrick happily and he pulled his friend out.

After Danny climbed out, he shook the water from his hair and asked Spongebob, "You okay, dude?"  
The sponge beamed, "I've never felt better! Thanks, buddy!"  
Timmy looked at his dirty hands. "That reminds me; I need a bath."  
"Me too," agreed Sam, "dirt never looks good on me, no matter how dark."

Danny smiled, "Now how could that be? Everything looks good on you."  
The goth glanced up at the teen, who suddenly became shy and turned away.  
Sam giggled a little and started towards the water's edge. With the gang following her suit, Danny looked down at his reflection. A young, green-eyed teenager, white haired stared back at him.

Cupping some water and splashing it onto his face, the teen looked over at his friends. The mud that was clinging onto them was starting to wash off from the water. Staring again at his reflection, Danny noticed how strong his chest and arms looked. Puffing them out, the teen couldn't help but grin at his hero look.

Sam glanced over to her friend and gasped a little. She'd never noticed how strong he looked when he was in ghost form. A happy smile crossed her face as the goth sighed. Danny washed off the last of the dirt and stood up, stretching his arms and legs. Even watching that made Sam get a little excited.

She walked over and put a hand on his powerful shoulder. "Wow, I didn't know a ghost could have muscle tone," the goth flirted.  
The teen blushed bright red and a sheepish smile crossed his face. But, keeping calm, he replied smiling, "Well, not all ghosts are as strong as me."  
With that said, Danny puffed out again and flexed. Giggling again, Sam gave him a poke in the belly and the teen deflated.

"It won't mean anything unless you have a strong heart, too," she said.  
Danny cocked his head to the side, asking, "A strong heart?"  
"Of course," the goth explained, "it makes sense that a hero like you would have it."  
The teen was still a little confused. _A strong heart,_ he thought, _I wonder what that means..._

"Excuse me."  
Jimmy's voice interrupted Danny's thoughts. The genius and the others were standing near the forest path that lead to the volcano.  
"Are you guys ready?" asked Jimmy.  
The two teens nodded and joined the group, heading deeper into the thicket. 

* * *

A few hours later, after trekking through the rain forest, the heroes came upon the volcano's base. A large cave was carved out and dripped sticky purple ooze.  
"This has gotta be the entrance," concluded Jimmy. "If we go through here, we could reach the volcano's top in a couple of minutes."  
Danny's heart was beginning to race with anticipation. "Well, everyone, this is it. Let's go!"

The team entered the oozing cave, careful not to get any of the purple goo on them. As they trekked deeper into the cave, it started to get a little hotter.  
Timmy fanned himself with his hat, "Man, where'd all this heat come from?"  
"Well it is a volcano," Jimmy pointed out, wiping his sweaty forehead.  
Suddenly, a low grumbling sound echoed through the caverns.

"Danny," asked Spongebob, "that wasn't your stomach again, was it?"  
The teen shook his head, "Nope."  
Another grumble made the team cluster together as they grew wary of the noise.  
"Ah, shucks!" exclaimed Sandy once she realized what was going on. "The volcano's actin' up!"

Spongebob gulped, "Actin' up? What does that mean?"  
"It means that the magma is moving underground," explained Jimmy, "causing the rocks to grind against each other and creating the-"  
"Cut to the chase, dude!" interrupted a frantic Timmy, "Is this volcano gonna blow or not?"  
The genius assured, "Most likely not, but keep an eye out for falling lava rocks."  
"Noted," Danny grunted.

The team continued to venture deeper into the volcano. As they did, each member reacted to the situation differently; Spongebob shuddered nervously as his eyes darted this way and that, Danny kept looking straight ahead, sometimes looking back to ensure everyone was following, Jimmy had one of his inventions out to examine the rocks, Timmy anxiously twirled his fairy-formed pens, Sandy's tail twitched in anticipation and Sam cautiously studied her surroundings.

Patrick, however, didn't seem to be afraid; in fact, he started to skip and sing, "Ah, deedle-leedle-lee! Dee-da-lee! Ah, deedle-leedle-lee! A-lit-lee!"  
The sea star's dopey voice echoed through the cave, bouncing off of the sides and producing a haunting tune.  
Timmy finally said, "Dude, this is no time for singing! This is serious!"  
Patrick turned to the bucktooth in surprise. "What?! How could you say that? There's always a time for singing!"

"It's okay, Pat," said Spongebob, "I like it. In fact, you should sing more."  
The sea star's eyes grew wide as Timmy shook his head. Taking a breath, Patrick started singing again. "Deedle-leedle-lee! DEE!"  
Timmy covered his ears and groaned. Spongebob spun around to face him and asked, "What, you don't like Patrick's singing either?"  
The bucktooth lifted his head up and noticed the sponge's sudden change in demeanor. His happy smile was now an annoyed frown.

"It's not that I don't like it," replied Timmy, "It's just that it's annoying."  
Spongebob retorted, "That's the same thing you said about my singing!"  
The bucktooth kid shrugged, "And your point is...?"  
"My point is that you should stop being a jerk and treat us like the friends we are," said the sponge.

Upon hearing the word 'jerk', Timmy lifted his lip in a snarl. "What did you call me?" growled the bucktooth dangerously.  
Spongebob got right up to his face and jabbed his finger in the boy's chest with every word, "Stop. Acting. Like. A. Jerk!"  
Timmy contorted his face to make it look ugly and snapped, "MAKE ME!"

"ENOUGH!"  
A deep shout echoed loudly through the cave. The gang, including the two boys, turned their attention to Danny, the owner of the voice.  
"You guys knock it off!" the mad teen continued, "Get your act together or I'll make you get your act together!"  
The threat silenced the boys. But for only a moment.

Timmy pointed at Spongebob. "He started it!" he accused.  
"Did not!" retorted the sponge.  
Danny took a breath to yell again but stopped short when he heard a loud roar coming from deep within the cavern.  
Spongebob immediately skittered under the teen's feet again, followed by Patrick.

"What was that?" asked the nervous sponge.  
The team clustered together and watched in horror as a giant black shape appeared from one of the openings. It stood on four legs, was as large as a truck and covered in purple ooze and harden lava. It came to a stop at the entrance to the opening and growled.  
Jimmy yelped, "It's a giant rock panther!"

"Oh crud," muttered Timmy.  
The monster crouched low and sprang forward, dashing towards the heroes. Screaming, the gang dashed off deeper into the cave. BAH-BOOM! BAH-BOOM! The rock panther's feet made a loud pounded sound as it chased the team. Danny sprinted in front of the others, leading them through the cavern.  
Sandy caught up with him and asked, "Ya'll gotta plan?"

"I'm thinking..." replied the teen, focusing on the path ahead.  
The rock monster snapped its jaws close to Timmy. "Well think faster!" he yelled.  
The team rounded a corner and noticed a bunch of stalagmites scattered in a opening.  
An idea came into Jimmy's mind. "I've got it! Listen up, everyone..."

A few seconds later the giant rock panther entered the opening. It stopped and looked around, confused. The corridor was empty, but it knows that the gang was chased here; it just had to find them. The monster began sniffing the ground, moving slowly. Meanwhile, behind some of the stalagmites, the heroes braced themselves.  
Spongebob cautiously peeked from his hiding place. He saw the rock monster was coming towards his direction.

Stiffing up, the sponge pressed his back to the rock and stood still. The rock panther's head looked over the rock, mere feet from Spongebob's head. A drop of purple oozed trickled down it's mouth and dripped down to the sponge's head.  
The moment the oozed touched him, Spongebob felt pain and yelped, "AHH! Get it off!" and started running around.  
Danny gasped as he watched the rock monster pounce on the helpless sponge.

"Back off, kitty cat!" shouted the teen as he lept from one of the stalagmites and threw a powerful punch at the beast.  
The rock panther, however, saw it coming and used its tail to bash the ghost hero in the head. Danny fell to the ground on his feet, but as he tried to stand up, dizziness overcame him and he held his head in pain.  
Seeing her friend in no condition to continue, Sam sprung from behind a rock and blasted the monster with her Peeler suit gun, causing it to stop.

Sandy, Jimmy and Timmy soon joined in and attacked the stunned beast; Jimmy used his Ice Ray gun to freeze the monster's feet and Timmy lashed out with a flurry of star flingers. Spongebob, who had recovered, noticed Danny's discomfort and raced towards him.  
"Danny," the sponge asked the dizzy teen, "are you okay?"  
The ghost hero shook his head, trying to recover, but he continued to see flashes of light and double images.

Despite this, Danny stood up and said, "I'm fine. Let's go help the others!"  
With a nod, Spongebob and his friend joined the fight in progress. The giant rock panther had escaped from the genius's ice prison and soon proved to be an experienced fighter, deftly dodging their attacks and launching a few of its own.  
Soon, the team was beginning to tire. Danny stood his ground, even though the teen was out of breath and his muscles were starting to cramp. Even worse, Danny was still dazed from the monster's earlier attack.

Suddenly, the beast rose up on its hind legs, its head almost touching the cave roof, and used its front to slash and stomp the heroes. The vibration of the rock panther's attack caused the roof to crumble and give way.  
"We've gotta get outta here!" yelped Jimmy and led the others through the tunnel.  
Big rocks and stalactites were falling all around the team, threatening to crush them. A large slab of rock crashed right in front of Sam, causing her to scream and fall backwards. Danny heard his friend and dashed over to her.

"Hang on, Sam!" the teen shouted and picked up the goth in his arms. Ignoring the pain in his head, the ghost hero carried her to the others.  
The team finally saw a small nook in the wall and quickly crawled inside. Patrick was the last to go, but the sea star got stuck in the opening. Spongebob helped his friend by tugging his arm and pulling him through. Outside, the cave was still shaking and more rocks fell from the ceiling.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the rumbling stopped. The group stayed silent and still for a minute to catch their breath.  
Finally, Timmy asked, "Is it over?"  
"I think so," mumbled Jimmy, unsure.  
Danny didn't say anything, still a little dizzy in the head. He blinked and looked down at Sam; she was still in his arms and, surprisingly, hugging him.

A shiver of excitement went down the teen's spine, but he calmly asked, "You alright, Sam?"  
The goth lifted her head to face him. Although he looked like he had been in a fight, Danny was smiling that happy smile Sam had always liked.  
"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, a little shy.  
The teen was about to say something else but a throbbing pain in his head made him groan instead.

"What happened to you?" asked Timmy, looking at him.  
Jimmy said, "That rock panther gave him a pretty good hit on the head. I think he may be suffering from a concussion."  
"Man, I thought it would be over by now," muttered the teen as he held his skull.  
Sam rubbed her friend's back, asking Jimmy, "Can he still fight?"  
The genius frowned, "It's hard to tell."

Suddenly, a red glow appeared in the Hyper Cube. With a flash of light, a tiny glowing ball of energy emerged from the device.  
"Wow," mused Cosmo as he watched the glow, "I didn't know you had floating orbs of light inside that thingy."  
Jimmy shook his head, "I don't."  
"Then where'd it come from?" asked Wanda.

The red glow drifted to Danny and landed in his white hair. It started to glow even brighter and the teen felt warmth hug his body. Suddenly, it disappeared in a flash, leaving the team stunned.  
Danny blinked again and realized that the pain in his head was gone, as were the funny images in his vision.  
"Hey, I feel a lot better," he commented, rubbing the top of his hair.

Spongebob's eye's lit up. "You do?"  
The teen nodded and added, "I think that strange glow healed me."  
"Interesting," pondered Jimmy, "but where exactly did it come from?"  
Patrick poked the Hyper cube. "It kinda had the same color as that stone thingy."

"You think it came from that?" asked Timmy.  
Sandy shrugged, "Maybe; Shelly did say the stone had amazin' power."  
"Wherever it came from," replied Danny as he stood up, "I'm ready to fight again. Let's keep goin'."

Once the team exited the nook and continued down the tunnel, Timmy caught up to Spongebob.  
"Hey, Sponge?" started the bucktooth.  
The sea sponge looked at him, "Yes?"  
"I'm sorry that I got mad at you and Patrick," atoned Timmy, hanging his head. "I was just getting so anxious about this whole 'saving the worlds' thing. I didn't mean it, honest."

Spongebob considered his words and beamed, "I accept your apology, Tim. But is my singing that bad to you?"  
"No way," assured the bucktooth, "it's great. In fact, sometimes I wish I could sing just like you."  
Wanda and Cosmo lifted their wands in preparation.  
"Without magic, that is," finished Timmy and his fairies lowered their instruments.

Spongebob smiled again, "Do ya want me to teach you?"  
The bucktooth shrugged, not knowing how to answer.  
"Oh, it's really simple," the sponge started to explain, "first, you've got to sing from your belly, not your chest..."

As the two conversed, Danny smiled in satisfaction.


	9. Chapter 9

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 9: Attack of the Mawgu 

The heroes traversed the cave tunnel to the volcano top for what seemed like forever. Finally, an exit appeared, emitting a purplish glow. Stepping through, the gang realized they were now outside on top of a plateau. Above them swirled a vast and cloudy vortex, levitating several large boulders.  
Jimmy stared in awe, "The immense forces of the space-time rip must be causing anti-gravitation in the area."

"And that means?" asked Timmy.  
Sam replied, "It means that things are gonna get bad."  
Danny looked up at the massive, purple spiral. "We've gotta close that rip before it destroys everything."

The teen was about to lead the group to the vortex when an enormous rocky, purple form appeared. It's upper body was that of a two-armed monster while it's lower half emitted a flare on the bottom, allowing the monster to hover.

"CHOSEN ONES, WE MEET AT LAST!" it roared, a glow of purple energy radiating from its open mouth, "I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL MAWGU!"  
Spongebob yelped and hid behind Danny. "T-T-That's the M-M-Mawgu?! He's a lot b-b-bigger than I thought."  
The Mawgu continued, "NOW, I CHOOSE YOU...FOR DESTRUCTION!"  
With that said, the monster blasted off towards the vortex.

"Can he do that?" asked Patrick, "I thought we were already chosen...choosen..."  
Danny was a little scared, but managed to ask Jimmy, "Is there any way to defeat something like that?"  
"I don't think we need to completely destroy him," said the genius, thinking. "Instead, you guys could lure that monster into the rip and I could seal it up at the same time!"

Spongebob beamed, "Great idea, Jim!" Then the sponge looked up, "But how are we gonna get up there?"  
"He's right," commented Danny, "I still can't fly yet. The Mawgu's energy is affecting my powers."  
Sandy pointed at the floating boulders, "But lookit all that flyin' rubble! If we get ah-jumpin', we could ride it all the way up!"  
"Yay! Jumping!" cheered Patrick.

Danny said, "Okay, we split into three teams: Sandy, Sam, Timmy and Patrick, you go that way and try to lure that monster into the rip." The teen looked at the genius. "Jimmy, you stay here with the Rip-Zipper."  
Finally, he pointed at the sponge. "Spongebob, you're with me."  
"Me?! But what are we gonna do?" asked the nervous sponge.

Danny smiled, "Don't worry; I've gotta plan."  
With everyone ready, the three teams split up, with Sam leading her group up one way and Danny and Spongebob going the other way. Jimmy, now alone, watch as the two groups climbed the rubble staircase. He was a little nervous, but the genius trusted the ghost teen with all his heart.  
"Be careful, guys," muttered the inventor. 

* * *

The atmosphere was intense with purple swirls and floating rocks. Danny and Spongebob had to be careful to where they jumped to. The two had already jumped several rocks up and were getting closer to where the Mawgu was last seen. The ghost teen landed on a large boulder and stopped to catch his breath.  
Suddenly, the sponge appeared, floating on a large bubble. When it reached Danny's position, it popped and Spongebob landed next to him.  
"You okay, buddy?" asked the sponge.

The teen stood tall, "Of course I am. Let's keep goin'!  
The two were about to continue when a deep bellow vibrated through their ears and the Mawgu came down from one of the rocks. Spongebob yelped and jumped into Danny's arms. The ghost teen was too surprised to throw the sponge off.  
Before the Mawgu could do anything, a rock knocked on its head from behind.

"Hey, you wiener!"  
The monster and two friends looked up and saw Timmy and his group on another rock. The bucktooth was shouting insults at the Mawgu. "You don't look so scary from up here!" sneered the kid, "You look like a toy monster!"  
The Mawgu roared, "NOBODY CALLS THE MAWGU A TOY!"

When it left Danny and Spongebob to attack Timmy's group, the ghost teen snickered, "But apparently calling him a wiener is okay."  
Spongebob chuckled at the comment and lept from Danny's arms. A loud shout from above caused the two to look up. Timmy's group was doing its job; they were starting to lead the Mawgu to the rift, continuing to taunt the monster as they dodged its attacks.  
But Danny knew it wasn't gonna last long.

"Spongebob, climb on!" the teen said.  
The sponge lept onto his back and the ghost hero started forward. He deftly jumped from one boulder to the next. Danny almost lost his footing on one, but managed to recover and continue. Finally, the two had reached a higher level in the vortex. It had grown even more chaotic than before.  
"What now, Danny?" shouted Spongebob over the howling wind as he clung to the teen.

The ghost hero yelled back, "We've gotta lure the Mawgu into the rip! Hang on!"  
With a final leap, they had reached a large slab of rock. The monster was at one end, growling.  
Once Spongebob was off of him, Danny drew his lungs full and shouted with his clearest voice, "Hey Mawgu! Me and the sponge are gonna suck all of your energy back into the rip, and there's nothin' you can do to stop us!"

"FOOLS!" thundered the monster, "YOU HAVE SEALED YOUR DOOM!"

The ghost teen and sponge prepared themselves as the Mawgu raced toward them. It through a large, rocky fist straight at the two. Both of them dodged it just in time and the attack crashed into the ground, causing it to crack. Danny launched several blasts of ghost energy and Spongebob blew a number of explosive bubbles at the monster.

The attacks didn't seem to do any damage, as the Mawgu quickly recovered and slashed with another thrust of his hand. This time, it came too fast for the two heroes and they were knocked away to the edge. Tumbling over, they gripped tightly onto the rim with their hands.  
"This isn't good at all!" whined Spongebob as his fingers began to slip. Before he fell, Danny grabbed him by the shirt.  
"We gotta keep trying!" replied the teen and he threw the sponge to the boulder.

With Spongebob landing with a squeak, the teen struggled to climb over. With a quick tug from his sea buddy, he fell forward onto the plateau. Looking up, Danny gasped as the Mawgu came rushing towards them again.

BAM! A blast knocked the monster off to the side, causing it to miss and veer off. The teen and sponge turned their heads to where the attack came from and saw Timmy's group. Sam's Peeler suit gun was smoking, indicating she was the one that blasted the Mawgu.  
"Looks like you guys need some help," stated the goth.  
Spongebob smiled, but Danny said, "The Mawgu's a lot stronger than we thought. It's gonna get dangerous."

"Hey, we're the Chosen Ones too," said Timmy, "We're all in this together."  
The teen wanted to protest again, but realized the bucktooth was right; they were part of a team. If they were gonna defeat the Mawgu they'll have to do it as a team. Another sudden roar signaled to the heroes that the fight had just begun. The monster arose into full view.

The team was about to ready an attack when the ground beneath them started to break apart from the Mawgu's earlier assault. The team gasped in horror as they were separated on chunks of rock and rubble. Danny and Spongebob drew close together on a small piece while Patrick and Sandy did the same on their own rock, along with Timmy and Sam.  
Suddenly, Jimmy and the Rip-Zipper appeared on a floating boulder. "Guys, we've gotta problem!" the genius shouted to the gang.

"No kiddin'!" Sandy yelled back, "That Mawgu guy separated us on these here rocks. We ain't got room to fight."  
Jimmy grew solemn, "It's worse than that, Sandy; I can't get the Rip-Zipper to work!"  
"What?!" shouted the stunned team.

The genius tried to explain, "I don't understand what's goin' on either; when I first tried a test run on the ground, nothing happened. No energy from the Amber Stone was extracted for my invention. It's like the energy's locked inside..."  
Spongebob looked up at the ghost teen, shaking, "Okay, now what do we do?"  
Danny took a deep breath and said, "We've got no choice, then; if the Amber Stone's not gonna help us, we'll go to plan B."

"I'm guessin' plan B's about destroying the Mawgu completely, right?" asked Timmy in a nervous tone.  
Jimmy raised his eyebrows, "Are you serious, Danny? You've said so yourself, he's too powerful."  
The ghost teen stood up. "Well, we're gonna hafta try, guys. We're doin' this for everyone; the island, the Mermecs, the Florians, the Crabs, and our worlds. They need us, they're countin' on us to save their world. We're not only the Chosen Ones, we're the only ones."

The team listened intently to Danny's speech. They were still scared, no doubt, but he was right; they have to do this. For everyone.  
"So," finished the teen, "who's with me?"  
Spongebob stood up, "You don't need to ask that, buddy; we're always with you."  
"The sea critter's right," agreed Sandy, "I'm with ya all the way."

Timmy piped up, "Me too!"  
"Me three!" added Jimmy.  
"Me...uh, what comes after three?" said Patrick.  
Sam beamed Danny a smile, "There's no way I'm gonna sit on the sidelines for this; I'm with you, Danny."

Just hearing his friends' allegiance to him made the ghost teen feel stronger. Raising his shoulders, Danny pumped a fist into the air and shouted, "LET'S DO THIS, THEN!"  
A cheer from the team echoed through the chaos, but a loud bellow drowned it. The Mawgu rose between the heroes, glaring at the ghost teen.

"FOOLS!" it roared, "YOU CANNOT STOP ME! THIS WORLD IS MINE!"

With a swipe of its hand, the monster tried to knock away Danny. Although he couldn't turn intangible, the teen was able to leap up and out of the attack's way. Landing in the same place, he shot out another powerful ghost blast.  
Spongebob followed his cue and blew more explosive bubbles. Suddenly, both attacks combined to form a ghost bubble that burst in the monster's face. It leaned backward, stunned.

"Whoa," mused Danny, "I didn't know I could do that, did you?"  
Spongebob shook his head, "Nope, but let's do it again!"  
The teen chuckled, "Well, okay, here goes!"

The sponge blew a huge bubble while Danny carefully formed some energy inside it. With a swing of his wand, the sponge flung the combination at the Mawgu. It burst in it's face once more, causing the monster to fall again.  
"Hey, that looks cool!" Timmy called out as he watched, "Lemme try!"  
Spongebob chirped, "Alrighty, then. Here it comes!"

Combining their powers again, Danny and the sponge flung the energy bubble towards the bucktooth. His fairies flicked their wands and fairy magic filled the blob.  
"Hey, we've got some of our magic back!" cheered Wanda.  
Cosmo added, "Yay, more magic!"  
The bubble lurched forward to the Mawgu, who was starting to get angry. After it popped and blasted the monster again, it was steaming.

"IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?!" it roared.  
Danny chuckled again, "Ya know what? It kinda is."  
"But how can we be sure?" asked a snickering Timmy.  
Jimmy smiled, "Let's find out! Give us another, Spongebob!"

The sponge nodded and blew another large bubble. After the team filled it with their own energy, Spongebob did another one. And another. And another. After five energy bubbles were created, the Mawgu was finished watching this game and launched a punch at the sponge.  
Yelping, Spongebob hid behind one of the bubbles. When the monster's fist contacted it, the blob burst and almost destroyed its rocky hand. Bellowing in fury and pain, the Mawgu tried again with Timmy, who was still taunting.

"Seriously? Being defeated by bubbles?" sneered the bucktooth, "That's a new low for you, dude."  
Attacking with his other fist, the monster burst the bubble again the kid was hiding behind, shattering its arm. This fiasco of energy bubble attacks continued for a few minutes, with the entire team starting to lower their guard down.

That proved to be a mistake.

Spongebob was about to blow another bubble when he tripped and lost his grip on the bottle and wand. The two items tumbled off the rock and fell deep into the abyss below.  
"Uh oh," whimpered the sponge as he watched the solution and wand disappear.  
Danny rushed to him. "Spongebob, what's goin' on?"  
The sponge stood up and looked at the teen with a fearful expression.

Danny suddenly realized what had happened. "You've lost your bubble stuff, didn't ya?"  
"Uh, guys?" stuttered Timmy.  
The two friends spun around and watched in horror as the Mawgu's limbs began to grow back. In seconds the monster was fully formed.  
"THIS ENDS NOW!" it bellowed and smacked its hands together.

An enormous wave of purple energy radiated from the Mawgu's attack and blasted the entire team into the air. The monster then started to spin around quickly, creating a powerful energy tornado. The winds were strong enough to buffet the heroes into the tunnel. They screamed, not just because the team was spinning like a top, but the purple energy in the winds were causing a great amount of pain. They tried escaping but the tornado was too powerful.

Suddenly it stopped and the heroes dropped hard onto a large slab of rock. The Rip-Zipper, however, was able to withstand the attacks (thanks to Jimmy's engineering) and landed in one piece. The Mawgu hovered back, regaining its energy.

Danny groaned and he slowly sat up. "Everyone okay?" he asked, feeling a blossom of pain in his chest.  
"Ack, no," muttered Jimmy as he lifted his head up. "I think I broke a rib. I can feel it."  
Timmy tried to stand up but his left leg gave way and the bucktooth fell to one knee. "Oh man, I don't feel so hot either."  
"Ooh, my head," moaned Patrick, holding said appendage.

Spongebob crawled over to his friend, in as much discomfort as he. "Hang in there, Pat."  
Sam was near the device and used it to help her stand up. Danny saw her and limped his way to the goth. "So," gasped Sam, placing her hand on the Amber Stone, "is this how it's gonna end? Out on an island in another dimension while our worlds waste away?"  
Danny sighed, "I...I don't know..." He put his hand on the stone as well.

Suddenly, the Amber Stone glowed with an inner light. On the stand a few clicks sounded off.  
Jimmy quickly stood up, a little dizzy. "Huh? It's working?"  
The genius rushed over and studied the Rip-Zipper. Fiddling with it for a second, he looked up at the ghost teen. "Danny, how'd you do that?"  
The teen was confused, "I didn't..."

A thought struck Sam. Her eyes widen in realization and she grabbed Danny's arm. "That's it! That's how we'll release the energy!"  
Jimmy started, "You mean, in the stone?"  
As the others gathered around the goth, she continued, "Don't you get it? That stone radiates some energy every time Danny and I touch it. I have no idea why, but it works."  
Sandy asked, "So, what are ya sayin'?"

Sam replied, "I'm sayin' that we should all touch the stone together. I think it's reacting to our bond we have with one another."  
"Bond?" said Jimmy, confused. "How on earth can a friendship bond release energy?"  
Danny shook his head, "I've no idea, dude, but we've gotta try it out. We've got no other choice."  
The team looked doubtful but did as Sam said. Sandy, Timmy, Jimmy, Spongebob and Patrick placed their hands on the glowing stone along with Danny's and Sam's.

All at once, a great light shined through the Amber Stone, enveloping the team into its brilliance. Sparkles of light danced in their vision and they watched in awe as some of the glitter landed on their skin. A warm and pleasant feeling filled the heroes' bodies. More clicks from the Rip-Zipper vibrated the stand and a beam of light raced out and struck the hole in the space-time continuum. Slowly the rip began to shrink.

Jimmy beamed, "Look, guys! It's working!"  
Danny smiled too, but noticed the Mawgu had recovered and was heading towards them again. Taking their hands off the glowing stone, the team realized they weren't in pain anymore.  
"Wow, I feel great!" stated Spongebob.  
Patrick cheered, "Me too!"

Timmy concluded, "The Amber Stone must've healed us up."  
"Alright, then," said Danny, taking a stance, "let's use our new energy to stop Mawgu once and for all!"  
The team cheered and took up their positions. Just before the monster attacked, they released all the power the heroes could muster:

Danny took a deep breath and used his Ghostly Wail while Spongebob blasted a torrent of water. Jimmy and Timmy combined the Tornado Blaster and star flingers to send a whirlpool of fairy magic at the Mawgu. Sam set her blaster guns to full power and launched a burst of energy with Sandy attacking with her giant acorn slingshot. Patrick was able to throw several of his arms as boomerangs (he is a sea star, after all.)

All of the attacks were strong enough to push the Mawgu closer to the rapidly closing rip.  
"JIMMY!" shouted Danny after he finished with his attack, "NOW!"  
The genius stopped and punched a wooden button on the Rip-Zipper. The beam of light grew stronger and the rip began sucking everything into the vortex. The Mawgu roared as it struggled to escape the vacuum, but to no avail.

As it clung to the edges of the hole, the Mawgu bellowed, "THIS ISN'T OVER, CHOSEN ONES! MUAHAHAHAHAH!"

With a loud bang, the monster disappeared along with the vortex. All the anti-gravitational fields around the plateau also disappeared. Too quickly. The team now found themselves falling towards the ground. Danny, however, rushed forward and gathered the team into his arms and back. Soaring up and through the air, the teen dodged several of the falling rocks and hovered, waiting for all the boulders to fall.

Spongebob blinked and gasped, "Danny! You can fly again!"  
"Yep," replied the teen, "and it feels good."  
Cosmo added, "And it also feels good to have our magic back. YAY!"  
"What should we do now?" asked Patrick as he clung to teen's back.

Danny was about to answer when Spongebob beat him to it. "I think we should head back to the crab's camp. They'll be happy to see us."  
The ghost teen nodded, "That's for sure. Okay, let's go then." He and the team sped off towards camp, the sun in the horizon beginning to rise.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island**

Chapter 10: Triumphant Return 

The heroes flew over the island towards camp. All around them the land began to change; a purple mist started to rise from the ground and disappearing into the clouds.  
Jimmy pointed out, "That must be the evil purple energy that's dissipating from the island."  
"Is it gonna hurt us?" asked Spongebob, a little nervous. The team was flying towards one of the purple clouds. They cringed when they entered but nothing happened.

Sandy said, "Guessin' all the energy's gone from this here purple magic stuff."  
"So now, it's completely harmless," finished Danny as he felt the mist grazed past his face like a water cloud. The purple mist hung for a while and then started to disappear, clearing the heroes' way.  
"Whoa, look!" pointed out Timmy. The others looked down and gasped.

Below them, the monsters that were created from the purple ooze began to crumble away into a pile of rocks and sand, the goo leaving their bodies hollow and without energy.  
Sam stated, "Looks like all of the Mawgu's minions are collapsing too."  
"Without that monster's energy," explained Jimmy, "they're nothing more than rock and sand."

Finally, Danny spied the camp below and descended to the hut. Once the team landed and jumped from the teen's body, a group of creatures were rushing toward them. The heroes prepared themselves for a fight but realized it was just Shelly, Queen Anorra, Erik and Guil, King Gorge and Torren.  
"Chosen Ones!" exclaimed the wise crab when he reached the group, "You have done it!"

"You have saved our island..." said Anorra.  
"...and our lives." finished Gorge.  
Torren bowed, "We can't thank you enough."

Spongebob beamed, as did the others. It's not often they get praised by an audience, mainly because their own worlds don't know how heroic they really are.  
"Of course, anytime!" said the sponge.  
Timmy turned to Jimmy, asking, "So, what now, Jim?"  
"Now, we go home," answered the genius.

Patrick groaned, "What!? Already? But I was starting to like this island!"  
"Ya know what?" added Sandy, "Me too! This here island is beautiful!  
Danny nodded, "You're both right; without all the monsters and chaos around, this place is pretty neat."  
"Well, you all are welcome to visit this island anytime...," said Erik.

"...And we'd be happy to give you an official tour!" finished Guil.  
Sam replied, "That's great! I've always wanted to hang out on a tropical island...without any of that 'saving the world' business, of course."  
"Yeah," said Danny, "It's a romantic getaway, that's for sure."  
The goth looked up at the ghost teen for a moment, a little stunned.

Now self-conscious, Danny began to stutter, "Uh...what I meant to say was..."  
Giggling, Sam placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Oh, I know exactly what you mean."  
The ghost hero shyly looked down, staring at his feet.

Spongebob popped behind Danny and nonchalantly gave him a little push. The teen stumbled forward and their noses touched. A tingly feeling zapped from the point of contact and spread throughout their bodies. Danny and Sam stood face to face, their nostrils still in contact with each other. The goth watched as the ghost teen's eyes widen and glow green. A sheepish smiled appeared on his face and she returned the grin with a blush.

Behind them, Spongebob and Patrick had a smirk on their faces, Jimmy just shook his head, Timmy pointed at his open mouth and made a gagging sound and Sandy just shrugged and sighed.  
"The Ghost Boy and the Night Girl..." commented Shelly as he watched the pair. "This was also foretold in legend; these two will have a bond stronger than any imagined before."  
The teens suddenly stepped back, now realizing what they were doing.

Spongebob finally spoke up, "Oh, so that means the other legend about us defeating the Mawgu was..."  
"True, of course," said the crab. "You see, Yellow Absorbent One, you and your friends saved this island, exactly as foretold."  
The sponge's eyes grew wide. "Wow, it's like you guys knew what was gonna happen all along. Can you tell me what I'm thinkin' of right now?"  
The crab sighed, "No, I cannot."

"It's ready!" The team jumped at the sound of Jimmy's voice. The genius had opened a portal back to their homes.  
"Okay, guys," he said, "I've activated the portal now. Time to go home."  
The heroes nodded and said their goodbyes to the islanders.  
"Take good care, Chosen Ones!" said King Gorge.

Torren added, "Be sure to visit us again!"  
"Farewell, Chosen Ones," finished Queen Anorra, "and thank you. You are truly heroes."  
The comment made the gang feel good inside.  
"Aw, twernt nothin'," shrugged Sandy.

Spongebob waved, "Goodbye, Shelly! I'm glad we could help!"  
As the team disappeared into the portal, Sam said, "I can't believe they thought we were their 'Chosen Ones'."  
Danny agreed as he jumped through the vortex, "Yeah, what're the odds of that?"

With a flash of light, the portal and its team disappeared. Shelly smiled and turned to look at a cliff. Queen Anorra, King Gorge, Torren, Erik and Guil did the same. On the face of the cliff were stone carvings of each of the heroes' head, looking out towards the sea.

"As foretold in legend," said the wise old crab.

 **The End**


End file.
